Destiny Unclaimed
by thunderyoshi
Summary: Sequel to Not The Hero Type. It's been over a year since the problems of Asgard spilled into Midgard, but they weren't done just yet. Back to her old tricks, Ciara is attempting her boldest move in a long time; breaking into SHIELD's base. And in doing so, she starts the path to a destiny she never asked for.
1. Fugitive

**Finally! I've been wanting to start posting this for a while, but I wanted to make sure I'm a decent way through it before I did.  
**

 **So here's the first chapter, I hope you like it!**

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Chapter 1: Fugitive

Arriving in the briefing room, a young woman stifled a yawn, and brought the hot cup in her hands up to her mouth to sip the coffee. She resisted a grimace at the bitter taste, and almost immediately lowered the cup back down as she took a seat.

"Rule One of this job," she jumped, and looked to the other woman who had taken a seat beside her. "Bring your own coffee. The stuff here is trash," she grinned, and the young woman blushed, smiling shyly at the friendly co-worker. "I'm Camilla Bianchi," she introduced herself, holding out her hand. "You must be new," she accused.

"Am I so obvious?" the young woman asked, her voice soft. "Penelope. Tournes," she shook the woman's hand.

"Well, we are trained to notice things," Bianchi smiled, leaning back in her seat. "But it was mostly the coffee," she winked, and Penelope's smile grew.

"Thank you for the tip, though I think I could have used it _before_ I took this from the man offering it," her words made Bianchi laugh, and push her black hair from her face.

"Tournes. You wouldn't happen to be Garland Tournes' daughter, would you?" she asked, but her tone made it apparent that it was more of a statement than a guess. Penelope noted that the woman was much sharper than her casual attitude laid claim to.

"Yeah, that's me. You know him?" Penelope asked, keeping her tone polite, but the moment Bianchi had mentioned her father, she had grown uncomfortable.

"Of course," Bianchi nodded. "He's a smart guy. Too bad his smarts haven't helped _us_ out here," she complained, and Penelope tilted her head slightly.

"Sorry, but what _are_ we doing here? I was told to show up here, but I didn't-"

"Ah yeah, secrecy is SHIELD's shtick, that's for sure," Bianchi nodded in understanding, folding her arms. "We primarily handle tracking down minor threats to security," Penelope's brow furrowed at the woman's words. "And our current target has been evasive, to say the least," she sighed, a little irritated by it. Penelope's smile grew at it.

"For how long?" she asked.

"Almost half a year," her eyes grew wide, and she looked to the man sitting behind her.

"Eavesdropping, are we?" Bianchi asked, not looking around.

"You make it easy, with how loud you talk," he smirked at her, and she scowled. He then turned his attention to Penelope, his smirk softening into a more pleasant expression. "Word of advice, don't let Bianchi fill your head with crap," he told Penelope, and a few others snickered around them as Bianchi shot him a droll look.

"It seems everyone is full of advice," Penelope commented, amused by his words.

"You'll need it, being a newbie chasing this one," he replied, turning more serious.

"How has he avoided capture for so long?" Penelope asked curiously. "I thought SHIELD handled minor threats quickly," she commented, and he shrugged.

"We do," he told her. "Normally. But in this case it's a little tougher," he said.

" _She_ is a Mutant with Super Speed," they looked to the front as the leader of the group spoke up in a thick Irish accent, dropping a file onto the desk in front of him before leaning on it. "And she doesn't just move fast. She has outwitted us every step of the way," Marcus declared, frowning at the team. "We are under orders to take her in, and the longer it takes us, the worse it looks for us," he warned them.

"What has she done?" Penelope asked before she could stop herself.

"Primarily breaking into labs and influencing anything mutant related," Marcus answered her gruffly. "But she has also broken into multiple SHIELD bases and compromised secure information," Penelope's eyes widened, stunned that someone would be able to do so. She'd seen the security, it almost seemed impossible. "Therefore, she has been deemed a threat to security, and we are under orders to take her in," he announced, not taking his eyes off Penelope. "And for future reference, Miss. Tournes, we don't normally ask," Marcus told her, and Penelope felt her cheeks warm.

"Sorry, Sir," she apologised quickly, making a few of the others chuckle quietly.

"So," Marcus moved on without lingering. "I'm all ears for suggestions on how to take in Ellis. Super Speed is a particularly difficult ability to bend to our advantage," he stated, finally taking his gaze off Penelope as she willed herself to stop blushing.

"What about Barton? He's had experience with her in the past," Collins asked from the back, his arms folded as he slouched in his seat.

"Barton is on another assignment," Marcus turned down the suggestion immediately.

"What about the Freedom Force?" Bianchi asked, rolling her eyes at the name. Penelope frowned, finding the name somewhat familiar, niggling in the back of her mind. "They've had dealings with Ellis, haven't they?" she added. "And they should be able to take her, with their powers," she said, and Penelope's eyes widened as she realised who they were. A group of Mutants who worked for SHIELD, mostly kept secret, who handled the more questionable missions.

"None of them possess powers to capture her," Marcus looked irritated at the suggestion. "So how about we come up with something that _we_ , the team assigned to this mission, can do," he raised his voice slightly, and they all fell quiet. He then looked to Penelope, who was drumming her fingers on her arm, silent. "Tournes, you look like you might have something to say," he accused, making her jump.

"Oh, I-I..." she stammered, her blush returning full force.

"Take a breath," Marcus told her, his tone softening, and Penelope did so, closing her eyes. She was quiet for a moment longer, aware that they were all watching her, before she finally spoke.

"Catch her off guard," Marcus blinked, standing straighter. "Leave it to the last second, and catch her before she knows we're there," she suggested. When nobody spoke, she blushed even harder and lowered her gaze to the coffee on the table growing cold.

"It would be tough, getting the element of surprise," she looked up and around as Collins considered from behind her.

"But possible," another spoke up from the front. "She can't dodge what she doesn't know is there," she smiled slightly as she considered it.

"Then let's get to work on planning that. The minute we find her, we need to move," Marcus told them, and gave Penelope the slightest of nods. She lowered her head again, this time to hide her pleased smile.

* * *

 _A blue light filled every part of her vision, and no matter where Ciara turned, it was there, continuing to grow brighter, seeming to pulsate._

" _This is really starting to get annoying," her voice echoed as if she stood in an empty room, but if she was, she couldn't tell. Forced to cover her eyes as the light grew too bright around her, Ciara's frustration took over, and she crouched, not knowing what to do._

 _'_ You will soon enough,' _Ciara's eyes shot open and she looked up at the three shadows that fell over her, speaking in unison._

" _What?" she demanded,finally able to see again. "What is this?" she shouted._

 _'_ You need to focus on what's in front of you _,' the voices spoke together again, not echoing like Ciara's did. '_ Or else you will miss the most important thing of all. And you of all people, cannot afford to do that _,' they warned._

" _What are you talking about?" Ciara asked,confused. "Tell me, what is this light!" she pleaded._

 _'_ Patience is a virtue you will need to learn, Eir, _' Ciara froze at the use of the name that had been long forgotten. Her fists clenched, and her anger grew as it dragged buried memories back to the surface._

" _Don't call me that!" Ciara roared, launching at the three shadows. They faded, and the light grew even brighter._

Waking with a start, Ciara sat up quickly, her heart hammering against her chest even faster than normal. She shook her head, trying to clear it, and it pulsed in response, forcing her to put a hand to her head as she winced. The young woman sat there for a moment, waiting for the pulsing to fade, and when it finally did, she let out a breath.

She cast a glance around the room; a rundown tip that she had found abandoned and had taken shelter in for the night, to avoid the storms outside. It wasn't much, but it made for somewhere to sleep for a while.

Ciara frowned, thinking about her dream, but when she did, the pulsing returned and she flinched, letting out a small whimper. Berating herself, Ciara dismissed the dream, only able to remember the blue light – as always – and got to her feet. She stumbled, unsteady, and cursed herself as her stomach growled. So that was what she'd forgotten.

"I guess I can risk it for something to eat," she murmured to herself. Grabbing a pair of black boots with mismatched laces, she pulled them on, grateful for the heavy duty design that didn't allow them to wear down very easily, and then grabbed the cloak that she'd used as a blanket, clipping it on. Ciara pulled up the hood to hide her silver hair, which had grown past her shoulders but still curled out messily. After checking around the room, she began to run, moving at an unnatural speed and leaving nothing but a black trail of an after-image behind her.

* * *

Darting through the streets, the only telltale sign Ciara left behind was a strong gust of wind, too fast for anyone to see her. If they'd been paying attention, they might have seen the black blur that followed close behind her. She stopped only when she was out of sight of anyone, hiding in an alleyway.

"SHIELD really need to find something more interesting to focus on than me," she complained, taking a seat and sticking a fry into her mouth. She let out a moan of delight, not having eaten in a while. "It's sad, what I've been reduced to," Ciara said, finishing the fries quickly and pulling a burger out from under her cloak. As she bit into it, she felt something buzz in her pocket. The speedster pulled the phone from her pocket, having swiped it from an unsuspecting man.

' _How's life on the run going for you?_ ' Ciara chuckled, always amused by Gadget's contact with her. With one vague message online, he was able to figure out how to contact her.

"More fun than I thought it'd be," she admitted aloud, not bothering to answer the text or call the young man. A moment later, the phone buzzed again as another message came through.

' _I'm not surprised. You were feral to begin with,'_ the technopath's response came through as if he was talking with Ciara face to face. It made things easier for the impatient young woman. The phone buzzed before she could speak, arching an eyebrow at him calling her feral. ' _How goes the big plan_?' he asked, and she rolled her eyes.

"And they call me impatient. Quit nagging. I'll tell you when it's done," Ciara answered, irritated by his question.

' _After it's done? You don't trust me enough to tell me_ when _it's happening?_ ' Gadget asked, and Ciara could tell that he was a little hurt at the idea. After all, he had been the one to tell her about what was going on in New Mexico, not to mention helping erase any research on better ways to identify mutants, _and_ he'd been the one to tip her off that SHIELD were after her.

"Don't take it so personally Gadget, I don't trust anyone," she told him, sounding bored, but something stirred in her stomach; uncomfortable and vaguely familiar. She shoved it away, but lowered her burger, suddenly not hungry. "I do appreciate the help though. I'll be in touch soon," Ciara dropped the phone and crushed it with the hell of her boot. She knew that once again Gadget would be unhappy with her destroying technology, but dismissed it, and took a deep breath.

" _Ciara, maybe you should sit down or get that looked at," Jane suggested, aware of the blood that was sticking Ciara's hair to her face. The young woman glanced up at her, seeming a little confused, and for a moment Jane thought she had hit her head harder than she let on._

" _I'm fine," Ciara insisted with a shake of her head, though she still looked confused. "It's just a scratch. Nothing a shower won't fix," she said. Ciara watched Jane for another moment, before looking back at the markings on the ground, and Jane realised that it wasn't that she was confused about what was going on, but by the concern shown._

"Get out of my head," Ciara hissed, shaking her head quickly to rid herself of the mildly blurry memories from almost a year ago. The uncomfortable feeling in her stomach returned, and she took a deep breath, her fingers brushing the two scars she'd gotten from the fight against the Destroyer, lying just above her eyebrow. Ciara slid to the ground again, leaning against the wall as she cursed herself. "Goddamn _nice_ people," she muttered, taking a rough bite out of the burger. She chewed, frustrated, forcing herself to think of what she had planned instead to rid herself of the thoughts. "I guess there's one way to forget," she muttered as she stood up, and smirked, cracking her knuckles.

* * *

Starting to run, Ciara forgot about the guilt she'd been feeling, and her smirk widened as excitement took its place.

Night fell and Ciara was sprawling low on the top of a hill, watching the guards patrolling and making a note of when they went by. She chuckled to herself. Like clockwork. That made it so much easier to get by them. Her blue eyes swept over her view, trying to memorise what she saw.

The base was massive; far larger than anything she had expected to see. Armed security was posted everywhere, keeping an eye on every entrance and exit to each building scattered around. Cars came and went, as even at night it was bustling.

Ciara didn't move from her spot, but she was almost buzzing with excitement. The base was off the grid, and draining a lot of power, meaning there was something there that SHIELD wanted kept secret while they understood what it did.

She wasn't entirely sure when she'd made the transition from breaking into labs to stop people from threatening mutant-kind, to sticking her nose in everywhere it didn't belong just to get a peek at something new, but she knew _that_ was why SHIELD wanted her caught. They were a _secret_ organisation, and to have a mutant threat breaking into their bases and compromising their information was not good practice. But, Ciara thought to herself, she didn't care. She was searching for something, she didn't know what it was, but she wasn't going to give up until she found it.

" _I'm fine," Ciara swatted Thor away as her vision swam. "I can handle a bit of blood," she insisted, and he smiled._

" _I don't doubt it. You would make a fine warrior," he told her, and she frowned._

" _I fight for myself, nobody else. I'm no warrior," Ciara told him, heated in her words, but Thor's smile just grew._

" _Someday you will find something, or someone, to fight for," he told her confidently, and pushed her back lightly._

Shaking her head, Ciara sighed and rolled over to look up at the black sky. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and even now there was a warmth to the air.

"So much for coming back, big guy," she murmured, not moving as she lay on her back. "I'm forced to make my own entertainment," Ciara complained, closing her eyes as she waited for the right moment. Taking a deep breath, she let herself relax, despite the looming excitement of what she had planned, to calm herself and keep herself focused.

The calm, quiet air was shattered, as a loud wailing sound began to echo from the base. Ciara's eyes flew open, and she leaned forwards, staring at the base as lights began to flash, and people started to rush about. Their shouts were too far to understand, and Ciara tilted her head, wondering just what had happened.

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 **Hope you like it!**

 **I'll hopefully have another chapter written soon, so I'll update when I do.**

 **Let me know what you think!**

 **Please review!**


	2. Downstairs

**Hope you like it!**

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Chapter 2: Downstairs

The alarm had been blaring for over an hour, and showed no signs of stopping.

The entire time, Ciara had debated on sneaking down to see what was going on, torn between her curiosity, and the caution that if she was caught, it was very unlikely that she's be able to escape this time. She was fast, and had tricks that they didn't know about, but that didn't mean she was a miracle worker. And she _really_ didn't want to have to reveal everything she could do, if she could avoid it.

"Well Ciara, you've come this far," she murmured to herself, finally standing up. She grinned, fixing her cloak around her shoulders. "Better to do it now, than when they sort this mess and improve their security," the silver-haired speedster considered aloud.

' _All personnel, the evacuation order has been confirmed_ ,' Ciara heard the voice over a tannoy as she slipped through the shadows, having approached the base. _'Proceed to your designated vehicles,_ ' it continued as people rushed by, not seeing Ciara _._ She barely made a sound, keeping the hood of her dark cloak up to cast shadows over her face.

"Evacuating?" she repeated in a quiet voice, watching as a group of scientists rushed past.

' _This is not a drill. Emergency personnel, proceed to your designated vehicles_ ,' the voice continued, and Ciara looked up as a helicopter flew overhead. Moving against the crowd, Ciara sped after the chopper, ducking back into the shadows to watch as the chopper landed in front of an agent she knew well. He didn't even flinch as he was battered by the winds created by the propeller blades, keeping his sunglasses on despite it being well into the night.

When the door to the chopper slid open, Ciara hissed and retreated further into the shadows, recognising both the woman and man who jumped out.

"How bad is it?" Nick Fury shouted over the noise.

"That's the problem sir, we don't know," Coulson admitted, finally pulling off his sunglasses to look at the taller man, who wore an eyepatch and a trench-coat. They began walking, and Ciara didn't follow, knowing it was too risky to even consider. Instead, she moved in another direction, running away as she determined it to be too risky.

She stopped not too far away, as a thought crossed her mind. Security was flustered, running on evacuation protocols, meaning she could easily slip through. She hesitated, looking back in the direction that Fury, Coulson and Hill had gone, and then ahead to the exit.

Ciara sighed, chuckling to herself as she fixed her hood. She turned back, keeping to the shadows.

"Who am I kidding? I can't resist knowing what's going on," she said aloud, starting to run. She slipped through the doors before they closed, and slowed, darting back to the shadows when people walked by, grumbling about having to abandon their research.

"This is ridiculous. I was on the verge of a breakthrough," one complained as he walked past Ciara, not noticing her.

"It's that Selvig one," Ciara's eyes widened as she recognised the name. "That super secret amazing project he was assigned to, it's gone rogue from what I've heard," the other scientist said, before they were shooed on by a guard.

"Selvig...well well, looks like you've gotten yourself involved in something real shady," Ciara laughed to herself, remembering the astrophysicist who had been helping Jane when they had met Thor almost a year ago. "Now I _gotta_ know what that is," she continued moving, this time at a normal pace.

The base was like a maze; massive and confusing, and it was very likely she was going to get lost. But Ciara didn't stop, walking at a confident pace as her boots barely made a noise on the stone floors. A cold wind blew by, almost knocking her hood down, and it made her shiver, before she turned and walked another way, finding a flight of stairs to walk down.

Ciara breathed out gently, noting the place was far bigger than it looked from the outside. "No wonder it's off the grid," she murmured to herself, still thinking about Gadget's words. Something was there that generating a lot of energy, and she wanted to know just what it was.

"I need you to make sure the Phase 2 prototypes are shipped out," Ciara cursed and darted back into the shadows as Fury and Hill walked by her.

"Sir, is that _really_ a priority right now?" Maria Hill argued, sounding annoyed.

"Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on," Fury stopped on the stairs and turned to her. She scowled, but didn't argue. "Clear out the tech below. I want every piece of Phase 2 on a truck and gone," he ordered her. Ciara shifted slightly closer, remembering reading about the mysterious "Phase 2" when she'd broken into a lab five months ago.

"Yes sir," Maria muttered, walking past him. She ordered two guards to follow her, and as Fury walked in another direction, Ciara started to follow Hill, but stopped. She frowned, glancing after Fury as something in her gut told her to follow him instead. Sighing, she tugged at her hood and did so, darting into the shadows when he glanced over his shoulder.

"Damn...he's too suspicious," Ciara complained as he started walking again, and she followed at a safe distance. She followed him further below the base, and her curiosity grew. This was no ordinary building. The massive lab had been built for a specific purpose, and Ciara wasn't quite sure that it was for a good reason. Fury strode with purpose as he stepped inside, and Ciara immediately sped to the side, melting into the shadows again as Fury looked around again, his already deep scowl growing.

"Talk to me Doctor," he didn't question it, instead turning and continuing to walk.

"Director," Selvig greeted as he moved from where he'd been standing, having been staring worriedly in front of a massive machine. Ciara peered out from behind the servers she'd hidden behind, and saw a few scientists rushing around working, as guards patrolled the room. Her brow furrowed slightly as she saw how many people were still there, and it didn't look as if any of them were planning on leaving any time soon.

"Is there anything we know for certain?" Fury asked as he looked around.

"The Tesseract is misbehaving," Ciara frowned, and looked to the machine he'd been standing beside. Her eyes locked onto a cube that was centered on it, glowing an eerie blue. Her entire body seemed to tense, as something about the cube called to her. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as a scientist tried to examine it, only for the metal prong to be zapped out of his hand, making him grunt as it stung through his gloves.

"Is that supposed to be funny?" Fury didn't sound amused at Erik's declaration.

"No, it's not funny at all," Erik shook his head. "The Tesseract is not only active, she's..." he hesitated as they started walking across the lab. "Behaving," he finished. Ciara tilted her head, wondering just what it was. She could feel the power radiating from it, and it made her very nervous. Yet, she found, at the same time, it was trying to draw her in.

"I assume you pulled the plug?" Fury asked, as if hoping the most obvious solution would solve the problem.

"She's an energy source," Erik reminded him. "We turn off the power, she turns it back on. If she reaches peak level-"

"We've prepared for this, Doctor," Fury cut off Erik's warning. "Harnessing energy from space," he reminded the man, who frowned as he returned to his computer.

"Space?" Ciara repeated quietly, still unable to take her eyes off the Tesseract. She could feel the power growing by the second, and it made her very uncomfortable.

"We don't have the harness," Erik continued on as he looked over the readings. "My calculations are far from complete. And she's throwing off interference, radiation. Nothing harmful, low levels of gamma radiation," he said dismissively when Fury turned to look at the Tesseract. He frowned, and turned back to Erik.

"That can be harmful," he reminded, and the scientist sighed. "Where's Agent Barton?" Ciara hissed and darted back behind the servers. Erik gave a droll laugh.

"The Hawk? Up in his nest, as usual," Erik rolled his eyes. Ciara slid to the ground, cursing her idiocy. If there was one person who'd be able to spot her in the chaos, it was Clint Barton. She didn't dare move out from her hiding place as she heard Clint approach Fury, talking to him.

"I gave you this detail so you could keep a close eye on things," Fury scolded, his tone light, but the weight of the situation was obvious.

"Well I see better from a distance," Clint replied, his eyes sweeping the room.

"Have you seen anything that might set this thing off?" Fury asked.

"Doctor, it's spiking again," a scientist warned, and Ciara shivered as she felt the strange energy in the room start to rise faster.

"No-one's come or gone, and Selvig's clean. No contacts, no IMs," Clint continued, looking around as Selvig rushed over to take a look at the other computer. Ciara bit her lip as a strange pressure grew in her head, and she put her hands to her temples. She curled up into herself as the energy seemed to weigh heavily on her, making it harder to breathe, and she barely heard what Clint said. "If there was any tampering sir, it wasn't at this end," Fury paused, and looked at him curiously.

"At this end?" he repeated, confused. Clint looked up, innocent.

"Yeah, the Cube is a doorway to the other end of space, right?" he explained, looking at the Tesseract. It flickered as if it was reacting to his gaze. "Doors open from both sides," Clint pointed out, and the ground began to shake as Ciara pressed harder to the sides of her head to try and relieve the growing pressure. Clint and Fury looked at the Tesseract as it sparked and crackled, with blue light flowing off it. The light burst out, flying in a beam across the lab, to a platform several feet away. The light opened out, growing in a circle, and exploded, creating a shock wave of light that flew across the room. As it hit Ciara, the pressure faded, and she fell forwards, gasping for breath.

After a few moments, she became aware of the heavy silence that had fallen over the room, interrupted only by the heavy breathing of everyone around.

"Sir, please put down the spear!" hearing Fury's cautious order, Ciara frowned, and peeked out, just in time to see a flash of light. Clint tackled Fury to the ground, and a machine exploded as the light hit it. The soldiers around the room opened fire on the figure who had attacked, but the bullets bounced off harmlessly as he leapt through the air, tackling one to the ground. The man let out a choked scream as the spear pierced his chest, before the attacker threw an arm out. Ciara saw the daggers as they flew through the air, hitting the other two soldiers. Another blast of light flew across the room, and Ciara darted out of her hiding place, pulling Selvig to safety. The two rolled along the ground, and he looked up, hissing in a breath.

"You?" he demanded, and Ciara winked before darting back out of view, moving too fast to be seen as the newcomer continued to attack. Soon enough, the only ones capable of fighting back were on the ground, most badly injured or dead, and Ciara didn't move from her hiding place as her heart hammered against her chest.

"I should have just left..." she whispered to herself, trying to ignore the part of her that was still pulling in the room. She heard a grunt nearby, and peeked out to see Clint struggling in the man's grasp.

"You have heart," he spoke, and something familiar about it poked at the back of Ciara's head, as she saw Fury crawling towards the Tesseract with a briefcase. The man pressed the spear to Clint's chest, and the light seemed to flow from it, into him. The agent groaned as he sagged, and the light filled his eyes, turning them blue. He holstered his gun, and Ciara's eyes widened.

"What did he do to you..." she whispered, staring at the man who never would have given up like that. Clint didn't move as the man walked away, doing the same to another agent.

"Please don't," his soft, unusual voice echoed through the destroyed lab, as Fury took the Tesseract and went to leave. "I still need that," the new arrival spoke as Fury stopped and turned around slowly.

"This doesn't have to get any messier," the Director warned carefully.

"Of course it does," the man laughed slightly. "I've come too far for anything else," he declared as the agent behind him stood motionless. "I am Loki, of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose," Ciara clapped her hands to her mouth.

" _Thor..." Sif frowned, confused. "Your father still lives," Thor's eyes widened at her words, and he stepped back._

" _No...Loki told me-"_

" _Loki has become King," Thor stopped at Fandral's soft words. "Your father fell into the Odinsleep not long after you were sent here," the blonde man explained._

Ciara couldn't move. The man was an Asgardian, and not just any – he was Thor's brother, the King who had sent the Destroyer to New Mexico and destroyed a town to kill him and the four other Asgardians who had come to bring Thor home.

"Loki..." Erik stood up, having been trying to help a scientist who had been badly injured by an explosion. "Brother of Thor," he realised, missing the look the man gained at the mention of his brother.

"We have no quarrel with your people," Fury told him, pulling his attention away from the scientist.

"An ant has no quarrel with a boot," Loki replied smoothly, amused by the man's words.

"Are you planning to step on us?" the Director asked in confusion. He stared at Loki, his hand gripped tightly around the handle of the briefcase. Ciara watched carefully from where she hidden, not sure what to do. She could run, while they were distracted, but while her mind was screaming at her to do so, she couldn't move.

"I come with glad tidings, of a world made free," Loki declared as he paced, standing in front of Erik and barely even giving the man a look.

"Free from what?" Fury asked, not sounding very hopeful about what the answer would be.

"Freedom," Loki answered, his tone changing slightly. "Freedom is life's great lie. Once you accept that, in your heart..." there was a slight bitterness that caught Ciara's attention. He then turned suddenly, and pressed the spear to Erik's chest, and the man could only flinch. The light poured from the sceptre, into Erik, and filled his eyes, turning them an eerie blue. "You will know peace," he finished with a smile.

"You say peace..." Fury spoke up again, not reacting to what was happening. "I kinda think you mean the other thing," he accused. Loki chuckled.

"A little hypocritical of you, is it not?" he asked. Fury didn't reply, not breaking eye contact. "Now, I wonder about our little spy," confusion clouded Fury's scowl, and Ciara went cold, before hearing movement behind her. She turned, but it was too late, and a hand tangled in her hair, yanking her to her feet. Ciara couldn't stop her cry of pain as she was pulled out of her hiding place. Looking up, she saw Clint pulling her along.

"Barton? Let me go!" she yelped, struggling, but he had a tight grip on her hair. Fury gave a soft sigh.

"Trying to help, were we? Waiting until the right time as to-" Loki stopped, his arrogance fading as he took in the girl struggling in Clint's grasp. When he stopped, she looked up, and her blue eyes widened in alarm. "The girl from before," Loki murmured.

 _As he tugged at Mjolnir, trying to lift the powerful weapon, he heard a laugh, and a shadow fell over him. Still, Loki didn't react, not believing it was aimed at him, and pulled again at the handle still in his grasp. It still didn't budge, and his irritation grew._

" _Having a little trouble?" he froze, realising at last that she was talking to him. Looking up, he met the gaze of a young mortal woman, whose appearance didn't quite match what he knew of those on Midgard. Her silver hair was a mess, and she was covered in dried mud, making her even less attractive than most. She grinned at him, crooked and devious, as she crouched at the edge of the dip in the crater._

She was cleaner than that day, and two scars marked her face, only months old, but it was most definitely the same girl who had seen through his magic that day he had lied to Thor and tried to take Mjolnir for himself.

* * *

 **Let me know what you think!**

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	3. More Questions Than Answers

Chapter 3: More Questions Than Answers

Ciara stared up at Loki, hardly able to believe that it was the same man she had spoken to, in another SHIELD base, when she'd seen him trying and failing to lift Mjolnir. He had changed a lot, looking far different to his groomed appearance, suit and coat, sticking out like a sore thumb amongst the scientists. There were dark lines around his eyes, and he looked almost sick.

"So it _was_ you," Ciara murmured in confirmation, and despite Clint's tight grip on her hair, she laughed. "I thought you might have been the same person," Loki's head tilted as he frowned at her attitude. The man's grasp on her hair looked painful, with his fingers tangled in, close to the scalp to give her as little free movement as possible.

"To think we would meet again, in such circumstances," Loki's words were quiet as he stared at her. He still couldn't understand how she'd seen through his magic when he was cloaked. She was just a human, wasn't she? Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Fury watching, looking furious. Whether it was that he had her hostage, or that she was once again in a place she shouldn't have been – or even both – he was not happy to see her. When he made a move to try and slip away unnoticed, Loki raised the sceptre in his hand. "Leaving so soon? Even with the girl in the grasp of your former ally?" he asked, forcing Fury to stop.

"'The girl'," he started, emphasizing. "Is trespassing as much as you are. I fail to see why I would care," Fury told him coldly.

"Ouch Fury," Ciara spoke lightly, as if she wasn't in the middle of a life-threatening situation. "Way to show how you really feel," she laughed, but it was cut off when Clint pulled her back. "Ease up a little, Barton," she complained, grabbing at his wrist.

"You are interesting, girl. I will have my answers," she looked up as Loki jabbed the sceptre at her. She couldn't have moved even if she'd wanted to, held in place by Clint. The light shone from the sceptre, but instead of going inside her, it flowed over her body, and Loki frowned as Ciara screamed in pain.

' _Not meant for you_ ,' she heard a voice hiss through the burning sensation that filled her entire body. It dissipated, and Ciara breathed heavily, now using her grip on Clint's wrist as suppose as her legs went weak.

"What..." Loki breathed, unsure of what had happened. Ciara looked at him, sweat trailing down her face as she seemed even paler than before, but her eyes were still normal, staring at him defiantly. Her defiance faded quickly, as her grip weakened, and she fell unconscious in Clint's grip. Loki looked at the man silently, letting a mask slip back over his face, and Clint hoisted Ciara under an arm.

"You claim to be setting us free, yet you take the girl?" Fury earned his attention again, and Loki turned his attention back to the man.

"Not a moment ago you were giving her freely. Why do you care now?" he asked, genuine curiosity in his tone.

"Sir, Director Fury is stalling," Clint spoke up. "This place is about to blow, and drop a hundred feet of rock on us," he warned, his eerie blue eyes lifting to the shining blue energy gathered above them. "He means to bury us," he accused.

"Like the Pharaohs of Old," Fury answered honestly, seeing no point in lying.

"He's right. The portal is collapsing in on itself," Erik spoke up, having gone to a computer to check. "We've got maybe two minutes before this goes critical," he looked up from the readings on screen, which all warned that the energy was going to explode.

"Well then," Loki glanced to Clint, who lifted his gun and fired without hesitation. Fury let out a cry as he was knocked to the ground, forced to drop the briefcase. The four started moving, leaving Fury behind as Erik lifted the briefcase and Clint carried Ciara under his arm.

* * *

"I need these vehicles," Clint's words caught Maria Hill's attention as she made sure the last of the Phase 2 projects were sent away. She had been reaching for her radio, when he walked by, and she noticed the figure under his arm. The ground and ceiling shook, and dust showered the woman as she saw Loki sit in the back of the truck they were taking.

"Who's that?" she asked Clint, suspicious as he didn't look around.

"Didn't tell me," he snapped, dropping Ciara into the back of the truck. Hill did a double-take, recognising the unconscious girl.

"Is that Ellis? What the hell is she doing here?" she asked as Clint opened the truck van.

"Sticking her nose in where it doesn't belong, again," he answered, and Loki watched out of the corner of his eye as the woman believed him. She seemed to relax slightly, but there was still a suspicious glimmer in her eyes as she turned away. She wasn't entirely sure what was going on, but she knew something was off.

' _Hill_ ,' she heard Fury groan over the static of her radio. ' _Do you copy_?' he asked, wincing as he spoke as if injured. ' _Barton has turned_!' before Fury could get the full warning out, Hill looked around and dove to the side as Clint fired his gun at her. She rolled out of view, pulling her own gun out and firing a shot that narrowly missed the compromised agent. He moved into the truck quickly, driving off as she fired more shots at the truck. ' _They have the Tesseract, shut them down_!' Fury ordered.

As Hill chased them at high speed, still shooting at them as she contacted other agents for backup, Ciara let out a groan as she started to regain consciousness. She heard the explosions and gunshots around her, but could barely process them as her head pounded painfully, and she curled up. She felt the pulse of energy before Loki shot another blast at the trucks following them, hitting one and causing it to explode.

Ciara's skin tingled, still feeling the effects of the power that had rejected her and instead felt like it was ripping her apart. Her stomach churned and she felt as if she was being spun in a circle violently. Finally she was forced to move, despite the action going on around her, and vomited over the side of the truck. Her head cleared and stopped spinning, and she looked around to see Hill speeding after them, her gun out the window.

The speedster slumped back into the back of the truck, not understanding what was going on. She was aware of Loki beside her, ignoring her as he watched the fight going on. He occasionally would use the sceptre he was holding tightly to blow up a truck that would get too close, before Hill sped ahead and slammed her truck against their own.

"I'm gonna puke again..." Ciara mumbled as the truck jerked violently, and sinking to the ground and curling up. The nausea had faded slightly, but all her energy was gone. She'd not felt so weak in a long time. More gunshots filled the air, echoing over the roar of the engines colliding, until Hill was pushed aside and they sped away. Barton pushed the truck faster, and they left the tunnel. The cold wind brushed at Ciara, making her shiver as she felt her consciousness starting to slip away from her. She felt one more blast of energy, before the darkness swallowed her up.

Loki slumped back in the seat as they escaped their pursuers, and a quiet fell, interrupted only by the dull rumbling of the truck. His eyes moved to Ciara, who was passed out again, curled in a ball with a pained expression on her face. His brow furrowed, not understanding her reaction to the sceptre. It should have worked on her, like it had done with the others. But instead it had been like she'd repelled the power and it had drained her.

He shook his head very slightly, frustrated that he found himself with more questions than answers about the strange mortal girl.

* * *

When Ciara finally woke from her dreamless sleep, her head was still hurting, but nowhere to the extent it had been before. A quiet moan escaped her lips, and she shifted, before realising that one wrist was restrained. She opened her eyes, and found that she'd been cuffed to a pipe.

"What...where am I?" she wondered, looking around the poorly lit room. There was a dampness to the air, and the only light came from a bulb that looked as if it hadn't been used in years, judging by the thick layer of dust covering it. Ciara thought back to what happened, but it was all a blur. The last thing she remembered clearly, was sneaking into SHIELD's base and meeting Loki.

She looked to the plastic tie that kept her restrained, and examined it curiously. It had been done roughly, but not so tight that it was hurting, just enough that she couldn't pull free. Ciara shook her head. Like that would keep her in place.

"You're awake," she heard the voice, and looked up quickly at Loki, who stood in front of her with a blank expression.

"Am I?" Ciara replied, her tone dry. She sat down properly, stretching one leg in front of her. "And here I thought I was dreaming," she continued, looking away to examine the tie again.

"Amusing," Loki commented in as dry a tone. " _This_ , however, is interesting," Ciara didn't look up, keeping up her bored expression. "I'm curious as to where you came to acquire such a powerful item," finally she looked up, and her eyes widened before she could stop herself. He held her cloak in his hand, examining it casually.

"Give it back," Ciara's voice was a growl, and Loki glanced to her idly. The look in her eyes was possessive, and she looked ready to fight.

"How about you answer some questions, first?" he suggested. "Starting with where you found an item imbued with magic," he requested of her, taking a step forwards. Ciara's fist clenched tightly.

"It's just a cloak. There's nothing special about it, I just use it to look flashy," she said, her voice as tense as her muscles. Loki watched her for a moment longer, and when she didn't break eye contact, he laughed, and approached her.

"That might be believable, Ciara Ellis," a look of alarm passed her face as he spoke her name. "If I wasn't the God of Lies. I can smell them a mile off," Ciara's expression narrowed into a glare at him again. "Now you _will_ answer me, mortal, before I tire of your game," Loki ordered.

"Don't call me that," Ciara snarled at him. "I didn't stand that Asgardian lady calling me that, and I won't have you calling me either," she warned, and a flash crossed his eyes, of an emotion Ciara didn't quite catch. She then gave a heavy sigh, looking away. "It chose me. A few years ago," she finally answered him, her voice quiet.

"'Chose you'," Loki repeated.

"Yeah, that's how relics work," Ciara shrugged. "I found it, in a library. It chose me, so I was allowed to keep it," she then gave a low laugh. "Though they might not have let me, if they knew what I use it for," Ciara considered to herself.

"Finally, an answer. Was that so difficult?" Loki mocked her, tossing the cloak at her. Ciara caught it with her free hand, pulling the black fabric closer. "Now, how did you reject the sceptre's spell?" he asked, and Ciara frowned. A flash of the past came back to her, of the man using his sceptre on Clint and Erik. He'd tried to use it on her, and it hadn't worked.

"I don't know," she answered honestly, and to his frustration, Loki could tell she was telling the truth.

"And how you saw through my cloaking spell?" he asked. The question had been on his mind for some time. He'd hidden from _everyone_ , including Heimdall, yet the skinny mortal had seen through it as if there was no spell at all.

"Been wondering that myself," Ciara answered, sounding a bit more cheerful. Loki's fists clenched in frustration. "I think..." she started, looking to the tie again as she seemed thoughtful. "Maybe my powers?" she thought aloud.

"Powers?" Loki repeated, and hummed a little to himself. "Yes, Barton told me about that. You're a _Mutant_ , with enhanced speed," he watched as her brow furrowed slightly. She was terrible at keeping secrets when cornered.

"Then why are you asking me questions, when you have your puppet?" she asked with more bite than she intended. She then caught herself, and sighed. "Honestly, I don't know _why_ I was able to see through it. My powers are the only reason I can think of," Ciara admitted, and leaned back against the cold wall. Loki didn't reply, thinking about this.

Honestly, before he'd arrived on Earth, he'd not had any idea about what he could only consider as a superior class of humans with strange powers. Yet they kept themselves hidden and oppressed. Treated like monsters.

Ciara didn't look up, but out of the corner of her eye she saw Loki's form tense, and his fingers curled into a fist. She wondered just what she'd said to annoy him. From what she had seen so far, he was a far cry from Thor, who had been a pampered prince to start, but had shown his genuine kindness and a caring side. But Loki, she thought, was dark were Thor was light. While Thor had only incapacitated when fighting SHIELD agents to reclaim Mjolnir, Loki killed and manipulated others, like he had done with Barton and Selvig. He'd killed almost everyone in the lab when he'd arrived. Ciara didn't look up, swallowing slowly. This was a much more dangerous situation for her than she'd originally anticipated.

"Anyway," she finally spoke up, and Loki seemed to snap back to reality. She had lost her light smile, and seemed serious for once. "I've answered your questions. I'd like you to answer one of mine," she decided.

"I beg your pardon?" Loki was taken aback by her statement. The way she spoke to him, it was too relaxed, too casual. To Loki, it was as if she wasn't taking it seriously. "You fail to understand the position that you're in, girl. You are a prisoner until I understand how you rejected the sceptre's power. Then, once I have my answer, I will-"

"Kill me?" Ciara finished for him, her expression innocent. She tilted her head in an almost birdlike manner, blinking up at him. "But until then, you want me alive. I just want to know one thing. Your plan," Loki was silent as he processed her words. Either she was sure she would escape, or she didn't care about what he'd said. But either way, if she was scared, she wasn't showing even the slightest hint of it.

"Now why..." he lifted the sceptre from his side, just enough to let it linger over her chest. The sharp end brushed the thick fabric she wore as a shirt, and a flicker of wariness passed through her eyes. So, she wasn't entirely fearless. "Would I tell you that?" Loki asked softly, the threat clear. Ciara didn't look away. After a moment, a grin started to spread across her face.

"I'm your prisoner, Loki," she answered, amused. "You plan on killing me eventually. The fact that you haven't tried to hide it to get me to talk makes it a certainty. What's the harm in humouring my question?" Ciara tilted her head again. Her silver hair fell into her eyes, and she swatted it away.

"My plan..." Loki stood straighter, not lowering his sceptre. "Is to free your people from the lie of freedom. With my army, I will bring this world to its knees, and rule over all," he declared, watching for her reaction. Ciara was quiet, her eyes on the sceptre still pointed at her chest.

"Take over the world, huh?" whatever reaction Loki had been expecting, he didn't get it. He lowered the sceptre, unsure of how to take her words. "Bit cliché really. But...that blue cube thing makes it way more interesting," Ciara then stood up, brushing the dirt from herself, and a smirk slid across her face. Loki paused, still confused by her reaction, before it clicked. She had escaped the tie keeping her in place.

"How-"

"Didn't Barton tell you?" Ciara laughed as she walked past him, strolling through the underground building. "There's very little I can't escape from," she continued to laugh, enjoying the look on Loki's face.

"Do not presume that you are safe simply because you escaped such a flimsy binding," Ciara stopped as Loki materialised in front of her, scowling furiously down at her. Her laughter faded, and she frowned, confused as something seemed off with him. She rubbed at her eyes, and looked up at the God towering over her, but his form was still blurry to her, as if she should have been wearing glasses. "You are still human. You are _nothing_ compared to me," she looked around and dodged Loki as he grabbed for her.

"Let's get one thing clear Loki. I am _not_ human," Ciara told him, her tone light, but the frustration was there. She _hated_ to be called human. She wasn't one. That much had been made clear to her by her father almost 20 years ago. "But..." once she calmed, she smirked, a thought coming to mind. "I _am_ interested in what's going on here. So I guess...I'll stick around for a while," Ciara decided, waving her hand through his illusion, causing it to dissipate, and she walked off.

Loki watched her approach Clint, who frowned as she spoke to him, but he made no move to grab her. In the corner of his mind, Loki noted that she had seen through his illusion, but dismissed it quickly. More importantly, he needed to decide what to do with the mortal girl who, rather than fighting him or begging for her life, seemed to be interested in siding with him.

' _She doesn't pick sides. Not since she was betrayed by the person she cared for the most_ ,' Barton's words rang in his mind, when he had the agent tell him about the girl. ' _The only person she trusts is herself, and she doesn't get attached. If Ciara offers her help, it's because your side is the most interesting. The minute she loses interest, she's gone_ ,' the warning was clear. Loki watched as she buzzed around Selvig, laughing when he tried to swat her away.

"You would turn against your people?" Ciara looked around as Loki approached her warily. "I will not favour anyone, mutants or otherwise. And I do not go back on my word. Once I have my answers, I will kill you," he warned her. Ciara arched her eyebrow at him.

"I don't care," she answered simply. "Fact is, your threat to take over the world, using the cube to bring your army here," Loki's eyebrow arched very slightly at her words. She caught on faster than he expected. "It's far more interesting than anything else. Hell, SHIELD are after me as it is. May as well give them a real reason to come after me," Ciara told him honestly.

"And how am I to believe you? How can I know you won't go _running_ the moment I drop my guard to warn those protectors of my plan, and our location?" Loki pressed her, refusing to believe her answer despite knowing it to be true.

"You can pick up on lies, right?" Ciara smirked at him. "And SHIELD wouldn't trust a word I say, for good reason. Typically, I've not been on the right side of the fight. Why start now?" she asked him. Again, no lies.

"Well then," Loki glanced away, dismissive and not seeming interested in what she had to say. "If you are so determined, you may as well make yourself useful," he told her, and Ciara's grin widened, excitement sparking to life.

"What do you have in mind?" she asked, and Loki had to wonder, if he'd somehow found someone as damaged as he was.

* * *

 **Hope you liked it!**

 **Let me know what you think!**


	4. Building Their Armies

Chapter 4: Building Their Armies

Penelope was pulled from her deep, peaceful sleep by a loud beeping noise.

She let out a soft moan, moving as she tried to ignore it and return to sleep, but as she shifted, something in her sleepy mind became aware that she was hunched over her desk. Sitting up properly, she let out a wide yawn, before finally registering the beeping that had woken her. Penelope gasped, and practically dove for her phone, managing to answer it.

"H-hello?" she answered.

" _Sorry to wake you Tournes_ ," Penelope automatically straightened up at the sound of her boss's voice. " _But we need you to come in_ ," Marcus told her. Penelope frowned, confused by his request.

"Why, Sir?" she asked before she caught herself.

" _The target was spotted, and has been caught up in another matter last night. We're needed to help on the case_ ," Marcus explained. " _A car will be with you in 10 minutes,_ " he told her, and Penelope nodded, despite being on the phone.

"I'll be ready, Sir," she told him when she realised. She hung up, and stood up, running a hand through her hair, which had fallen from its ponytail. She looked down at the notes spread across the desk, all on her target that she'd only been assigned a week ago. "Ciara Ellis," Penelope spoke aloud as she went into her room and grabbed her hairbrush.

As she ran the brush through her hair, she thought about what she'd read. "Mutant: Super speed. Date of birth:Unknown. Place of Birth: Unknown," she listed as she swapped her vest for a white shirt. Her fingers, trembling, slipped on her buttons, and she scolded herself for being so nervous.

Penelope wondered just what had happened. Marcus had sounded less stern than usual, and a little more concerned. He'd even apologised for waking her. She knew it had to be bad for the strict leader to be gentler, even on her. She pulled on a pair of black trousers, and hunted the room for her heels as she continued to recite what she'd learned from her file. Once she was dressed and ready, she rushed back into her office and collected the file on Ciara.

It was only when she was in the car, did she think to check the time. Not even 4am. She considered trying to get some sleep in the car, but instead, applied a quick layer of make-up and fixed her hair, before opening the file again. Pictures were clipped to the first page, of the target. Penelope lifted one, taken a year ago in New Mexico, and studied the girl's face.

Ciara didn't seem much younger than her, with silver hair and bright blue eyes, but her mischievous smile was what caught Penelope's attention the most. It unnerved her. She seemed like the sort who caused trouble for fun; exactly the type of person Penelope had avoided her entire life. "A Mutant menace...active since her teens," Penelope spoke aloud, looking out the window as she thought about her. Frustration bubbled to the surface as she thought about Ciara, and she shut the folder over with a snap.

When she realised where she was, her brow furrowed. "Um, excuse me," she leaned forwards to talk to the driver. "The office is on the other side of the city," Penelope told him, confused.

"We're not going to the office, Miss. Tournes," the man replied, confusing her even more. "We're going to the airport. There's a carrier there waiting to take you and O'Reilly to the base," he explained, turning down another street.

"Base?" Penelope repeated, and winced at how slow she sounded. The driver didn't seem to mind, letting out a quiet chuckle.

"You'll see," he said cryptically, and Penelope looked out the window again, wondering just what he meant.

* * *

"A portal," Ciara spoke as she sat perched on a table, watching Selvig work.

"Excuse me?" the astrophysicist asked, only half paying attention to her as he lifted a screwdriver. He turned his back to her, working on building a device.

"You're building another portal, like the one in the SHIELD base," she accused him. "So then Professor Mind Control over there can get his army through like he did," Ciara summed up, and Selvig looked at her at last. The blue in his eyes was unnatural, and sent a shiver down Ciara's spine as he seemed to look right through her.

"You're smarter than you seem. Especially without your mind being free like mine," he declared, and turned away. Ciara wasn't insulted, only mildly amused. While under mind-control, Selvig had been a lot more forthcoming on his opinions on her, calling her a pest and telling her frequently that she was in the way.

"So what are you going to do to stop it from collapsing in on itself?" she asked, grinning as Selvig walked over, looking for something. Ciara held out a blowtorch.

"Why don't you make yourself useful and sort the weaponry with the others," Selvig snatched it from her and turned away. Ciara let out a huff, and jumped down from the table.

"Mind control makes people so _boring_ ," she complained, walking away as more scientists walked in to help him. However, as she walked away, she felt a tug in the opposite direction, compelling her to go back. The same pull that encouraged her to follow Fury into the lab where she had ended up being dragged into the fight.

Ciara refused to admit that she'd been feeling the pull since she'd woken up in the underground bunker where Barton was slowly amassing a large group of people, to help Selvig build his machine, and to help fight SHIELD. She'd barely left the room, as the pull only got worse when she did, and it frustrated her. She refused to get any closer to the Tesseract, as when she did, she felt the pull clearly and it terrified her.

Ciara hated being scared of anything.

She looked around, seeing Loki sitting nearby, his eyes closed as the sceptre in his hand shimmered brighter than usual. She watched him, wondering what he was doing. She wondered why he'd set his eyes on Earth as his kingdom. Clearly his fight with Thor had not gone well, considering he was now here, and Thor was still nowhere to be found.

When Loki jerked suddenly as if he'd been struck by something, his eyes flew open, and Ciara immediately turned away. She was close enough to hear his heavy breathing, and she questioned what he had been doing. However, her questions were forgotten when her stomach growled loudly, reminding her of how hungry she was. She darted away quickly, creating a gust of wind that Loki didn't even notice.

Deep in his thoughts, thinking about what the Other had warned him, Loki didn't pay attention to any of the bustling around him. He had no need to. They were all under his control. Except for one. As he remembered Ciara, Loki turned to try and spot her, to make sure she wasn't causing trouble, when something was almost shoved in his face.

"I dunno about you, but I'm starved," Ciara told him simply, dumping something beside him and walking past him. She bit into a burger as she weaved around some men patrolling with their guns clutched to their chests, and he looked down, realising she'd given him some sort of food. He lifted it slowly, confused by her actions once again. "Can't be fighting SHIELD on an empty stomach. They're going to have some fun friends to play with," she pointed out between bites. Loki looked down at the burger in his hand, tempted to throw it away. He didn't need her pity. But, he reluctantly agreed, as his stomach gave a treacherous grumble.

"Tell me about them," he ordered suddenly, and watched as Ciara tore her eyes away from the work going on around the Tesseract.

"I wouldn't be the most up to date on them, I just know what I found in some files on them," she replied. Loki watched her expectantly, and Ciara gave a small sigh. "Okay," she shrugged.

* * *

Nerves churned in Penelope's stomach and she clutched her file close to her chest as she stepped out of the carrier that had taken her across the ocean. Her hair whipped around her face, pulled from its ponytail, as the winds batted at her and Marcus.

"Sir, where are we meeting the rest of the team?" she asked as she looked around the massive base that rested on the water. It was large enough to house multiple carriers and other vehicles, and people were running around trying to keep order.

"They're not coming," Marcus answered gruffly. "They're working on locating Ellis from their end. We're here to make sure the rest are caught up in what we know," he told her. Penelope could only nod as her nerves grew worse. She questioned why _she_ was there with him, instead of Bianchi or one of the other Agents who'd been on the case for some time. She clutched the files closer to her chest, trying to focus instead on what she did know.

"O'Reilly!" she heard someone call, and the two looked around to see a man raise his hand in greeting to them. Penelope's eyes widened when she saw the man standing beside him, looking awkward.

"Coulson," Marcus marched over without hesitation, and Penelope followed quickly. "And Steve Rogers," he nodded to the deceptively young looking man.

"Captain, this is Marcus O'Reilly, and Penelope Tournes," Coulson introduced them, and Steve nodded to them with a polite smile.

"Good to meet you," he greeted them.

"I'm surprised you haven't keeled over in such close proximity to him," Marcus smirked to Coulson, who rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"I'm glad Fury called you two in. I have a very bad feeling that we're going to need your information," Coulson told them, and Marcus shrugged.

"I hope it won't come to that, but I doubt we're that lucky," he replied. "We better get in and contact the rest of the team. See you inside. Nice to meet you Cap," Marcus nodded to Steve, and the two walked off.

"O'Reilly and Tournes are on a taskforce trying to find and apprehend Ciara Ellis," Coulson explained as Steve watched the two heading inside.

"The girl taken in the attack," he nodded.

"Let's hope that's all it is," Coulson murmured, and Steve frowned, wondering what he meant.

* * *

As the Helicarrier took to the sky and vanished, Penelope stared out the window with fascination. She'd heard about the Helicarrier and it's technology, but she never thought she'd have a chance to be on it.

" _I'm so jealous_ ," Bianchi whined over the video feed to the office where they'd been working. " _Why couldn't I have gone too_?" she complained.

"Because we're trying to hunt down a threat that may be growing out of hand," Marcus spoke sternly, not looking up from the files in front of him and Penelope. "I don't have time to make sure you don't show me up, Bianchi," he said, his tone flat as others laughed over the feed. "Have there been any leads?" Marcus asked them gruffly, keeping them on topic.

" _Nothing yet,_ " Collins answered first. " _We're checking every known location, everyone we know she's associated with in the past_ ," he filled the two in as Penelope turned back to her notes and checked over everything she could. Beside her, Marcus was scribbling down notes over the pages.

"If she's still not surfaced, she's probably still with this Asgardian," he considered, drumming the pencil against the metal table. "It's likely at this point to consider that she's allied herself with him. Which proves even more problematic," Marcus muttered, talking more to himself than the rest of the team.

"Could it be that she's under the same influence as Agent Barton and the others?" Penelope considered, having been reading over the report provided about the incident two nights ago. Marcus had cursed Fury out for taking so long to contact them.

" _It doesn't seem likely_ ," Bianchi shook her head, reading the file on her tablet. " _The power seemed to have a different effect on her than it did them, according to the Director_ ," she explained as she scanned over the readings. " _Maybe because she's a Mutant? It's tough to tell,_ " she shrugged, and looked around as Steve walked by, looking fascinated by what was going on. " _Is that who I think it is?_ " Bianchi's eyes lit up.

"Call us when you have something," Marcus immediately ended the call, and Penelope hid her smile. He then whistled, and Penelope glanced to him. "They really are desperate, if they brought Banner back," he murmured, and Penelope followed his gaze. Talking to Fury was a scrawny looking man in a purple shirt and tweed jacket, looking very uncomfortable as he avoided eye contact for the most part.

"That's Doctor Banner?" Penelope asked in awe, having read the file.

"It is indeed. Wonder if they brought him in for his brain, or brawn," Marcus snorted.

"O'Reilly," Coulson warned, near enough to hear the quiet comment. Marcus just raised his hands in a wordless defence. Coulson sighed. "We're also using every camera we can get access to, to try and find those who vanished that night," he added.

"I've been at you for months requesting that," Marcus frowned at him. "It takes the kid getting caught up in a global threat to finally get clearance?" he complained, and Penelope watched him curiously, seeing the man in a different light. Here, away from most of the team, and with people he knew, he was more comfortable.

"You should have looked harder for her in the first place," Hill spoke loud enough for him to hear, and Marcus glowered at her.

"You try catching a kid who's faster than a bullet," he bit back. Hill just smiled pleasantly at him, and when he looked away irritably, she winked to Penelope, who had to fight her smile. "At least we have some form of plan for catching the kid now, Tournes. So let's get to work," Marcus ordered, and she nodded, looking back to the files in front of them.

* * *

Erik hummed while he worked, Ciara found.

Whether it was an influence of the sceptre in his mind, or just a deeply ingrained habit, the man hummed old songs that Ciara barely recognised. Occasionally he would sing a few lines under his breath, when deeply focused on a particular part of what he was doing.

Ciara bit into the chocolate bar she'd swiped, watching as even more people helped the astrophysicist with his work. He wasn't shy about ordering them around either, and the progress of the machine was flowing smoothly.

"Something to stabilise it," Ciara considered aloud, making Selvig glance at her. She'd been sitting on the desk again, watching him work. The Tesseract was stored nearby, and she was making a point of ignoring it.

"That's exactly what I was thinking," he confessed. "The Tesseract's power destroyed the machine it used the last time because it wasn't stable. Iridium should do the trick," Erik spoke, his eyes almost glowing.

"Iridium?" Ciara asked, curious as to what the Doctor was thinking.

"It's a stabilising agent, used to harden metals," Erik explained, adjusting a screw. "I don't have access to any here. Barton!" he called over his shoulder, and the assassin approached, an eyebrow raised and breaking his frown. "I'm going to need Iridium, and a lot of it," he told the man, who nodded, and walked off. Ciara watched him, drumming her fingertips on her arm.

She was starting to get impatient. Ciara's super speed didn't allow for much patience as it was, and it definitely didn't let her feel comfortable just sitting around waiting. She'd been on the run for months now, she was used to leaving after a day or so.

Jumping down from the desk, Ciara walked away, still drumming her fingers against her arm as she fought the urge to start running and leave the bunker they were hidden inside of. Instead, she found herself by the case where the Tesseract was hidden, staring at it. The pull she felt towards it was weak, but pulsed, almost like a faint heartbeat, and when she tilted her head, blue light started to pour from the cracks of the case, pale and bright but not as eerie as the colour that spilled from Loki's sceptre.

Mesmerised by the light, Ciara lifted a hand without thinking, as if to touch it. Before she could, a hand grasped her tightly around her neck, and she was slammed against the wall with enough force to make her gasp, snapping her out of her stupor.

"And what were you planning on doing with that?" Loki asked, his voice soft and deceptively light, but when Ciara looked up at him, she saw the rage in his eyes. "Betraying me already?" his thin fingers tightened around her throat, lifting her off her feet just high enough that her toes skimmed the ground. Ciara grabbed at his wrist, struggling to try and inhale.

"I didn't...the stupid...thing..." she wheezed as his grasp didn't loosen on her.

"Do you think me foolish enough to trust you, girl?" Loki's voice was quieter still as he leaned closer to the girl, who was almost at eye level as he kept her pinned to the wall. "Don't presume for one second that I will allow you to live if you touch the Tesseract. My questions about you are of little consequence, if you defy me," he warned her.

"Then just...kill...me..." Ciara chuckled, her vision dotting as she forced herself to take small enough breaths to stay conscious. Loki's brow furrowed more as he saw she was unaffected by his threat.

"You do not fear for your own life, and you don't have anyone you would care for in your place..." he considered, before his eyes lit up. "Perhaps this will persuade you to stay in line," his other hand suddenly pressed to her forehead, and Ciara felt herself being pulled somewhere else.

 _Ciara was six years old again, impatient and always running around with her friends. The teachers were complaining that she was too unfocused to learn anything. It was a wonder she'd learned to read and write, one said to the others, and they nodded in agreement._

 _The morning started like any other. Woken by the smell of breakfast – chocolate chip pancakes this time – Ciara had jumped out of bed with excitement. Her brother and sister were still fast asleep, not as easily woken as the eldest child. Without waiting, Ciara opened her bedroom door and sprinted down the stairs, not realising that she was faster than normal, and rushed into the kitchen._

" _G'morning mama!" she chirped as she reached the kitchen._

" _Why am I not surprised that you're the first to rise?" the woman at the stove chuckled, her face obscured by fog. Ciara scrambled to the table, bouncing with excitement. She hummed to herself, a pleasant tune, sliding pancakes onto a plate. "I suppose your father will just have to wait his – oh my god!" the woman screeched, and there was a loud crash as the plate hit the ground and shattered._

" _Mama?" Ciara asked softly, her heart pounding at the crash. She didn't like loud noises. They made her jumpy and skittish. She slid down from her seat to approach the woman staring at her with an expression Ciara didn't recognise, still obscured. The little girl was confused, so walked over to clear up the broken plate as the pancakes lay forgotten._

" _Stay back!" the woman screamed at her, lifting the spatula and pressing her back against the counter as if to get away from the little girl._

" _Mama?" Ciara's voice quivered as she stopped in the middle of the kitchen._

" _What is all this noise?" Ciara's father walked into the room, and froze as Ciara looked around at him. He stopped dead, his eyes focused on her in disbelief. His face was clear as day, unlike the woman terrified behind her._

" _Daddy?" Ciara tilted her head, not understanding what was going on. "Daddy, what's going on?" Ciara approached the man tentatively, and as she reached out, she saw his face twist up in disgust. He slapped her hand away with enough force to knock the girl off balance, and she stumbled backwards._

" _Of all the cruel punishments to deliver on me...on this family..." the dark haired man snarled, and stepped towards her. He reached out to grab her arm, and Ciara saw his movements as if in slow motion. She moved, faster than she expected, and dodged his moves, backing up across the kitchen with such speed that the man's eyes went wide, and the woman screamed. Ciara frowned, not understanding what had happened._

 _Nothing made sense to the little girl. Her mother was screaming at her, brandishing the spatula like a weapon; the pancakes forgotten on the floor._

" _What's going on?"_

" _Mommy? Daddy?" Ciara looked to the doorway, and saw her younger siblings in the doorway. Not much younger than her, their faces too were shrouded in fog._

" _What's wrong with Ciara?" her brother gasped as he saw her. Ciara didn't understand. What_ was _wrong with her? Why were they treating her like a monster?_

 _She let out a gasp of pain as her father's hand grasped her arm, tighter than she'd ever been held. Ciara let out a cry as she was yanked along, barely staying on her feet._

" _Stay here," her father ordered the rest of the family, yanking Ciara along._

" _What's going on? Daddy!" she pleaded with him, trying to tug free. His grip tightened even harder, sure to be leaving bruises were his fingers pressed into her skin. As he dragged her to the door, she caught a glimpse of her reflection._

 _Her hair, once dark brown, was now pale silver, long and unruly. Her eyebrows were silver too, as if it were her natural hair colour. She'd lost some of her puppy fat, looking underweight. Looking around, Ciara saw her siblings being pulled into the arms of their worried mother, their faces still obscured by the fog, but their fear was obvious._

 _Time seemed to slow down again for Ciara, and she stumbled as the tug on her arm was much slower this time. Her father didn't stop, or pull her up, and time returned to normal as she pushed herself back up to stop herself being dragged along the floor._

 _Without a word, her father yanked her out the door, looking around to ensure nobody was watching, and opened the boot of his car. "Daddy-" Ciara was cut off as he lifted her into the air and tossed her into the boot, and as she looked up, a scream on her lips as he slammed the boot closed._

Ciara dropped to the ground, gasping for breath as Loki released her, stepping back and blinking rapidly. When he cleared the haze, he looked down at the girl on the ground.

Ciara's fingers were curled into tight fists as she continued to inhale sharp breaths, the memory at the front of her mind as tears ran down her face. On her hands and knees, she didn't look up as she choked on her breath, starting to cough.

"May that serve as a reminder," Loki's voice was cold, and she looked up with hatred. He watched her, expressionless. "Of who is the more powerful here. Cross me, and you'll return to the darkness," he promised, turning and striding off. Ciara choked again, and slumped, unable to contain her cries.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed!**

 **Please review!**


	5. Stuttgart

Chapter 5: Stuttgart

Hours had passed since Ciara had let herself be pulled in by the Tesseract, and she hadn't gone near it since. Instead, she was on the far side of the room, lurking in the shadows with her legs pulled in.

' _Just leave_ ,' her mind urged her. Her tears had long since faded, but the memory of the day she'd developed her powers still lingered. She'd buried those memories, locking them away behind a wall, and she'd refused to think of them for so long. Loki had shattered that wall in an instant. ' _Get out of here. He'd never catch you_ ,' Ciara told herself, arms around her legs as people passed her. They didn't pay her any attention, nor she them.

She debated it. Leaving, abandoning this insane thing she'd stumbled across. Loki had brute forced a memory to the front of her mind, and despite it being slightly foggy, it was still a painful memory to think about. She'd locked it away for a reason, and now it was back and haunting her. If she stayed, there was a very real chance he would do the same again, if he caught her off guard.

' _Stay_ ,' another part of her mind whispered. Ciara put her hands to her head, letting her fingers slip into her silver hair. ' _You should stay,'_ it urged, and Ciara couldn't help but agree. If she left now, she risked missing out on a much more fun adventure than wandering New Mexico with Thor. An adventure much like the ones she'd gotten tangled up in during her teens.

But that wasn't the only reason that was enticing her to stay. Despite her fear, despite Loki's warning, Ciara still felt drawn to the Tesseract. It was like a pull; something tugging on her hand to encourage her to follow. Something encouraging her to move closer, but the closer she got, the more intense, the more urgent the pull.

Ciara let out a heavy sigh, letting her head fall back gently so it pressed against the cold brick wall behind her. Nothing was simple.

"Put it over there," Erik ordered, gesturing with a screwdriver as he continued to work on the machine. He'd barely stopped since he started working, focused entirely on what he was doing with little consideration for his own well being. Ciara glanced over as his voice echoed. "Where did you find all these people?" he called as he walked over to Clint. The assassin had a tablet in his hands, focused on his search.

"SHIELD has no shortage of enemies, Doctor," he answered mildly. "Is this the stuff you need?" Clint asked, turning the tablet around to show information on Iridium, and a man connected to it.

"Yeah, Iridium," Erik nodded. "It's found in meteorites. It forms anti-protons," he explained. "It's very hard to get hold of," he said as he screwed together another piece of the machine.

"Especially if SHIELD knows you need it," Clint warned.

"Well I didn't know," Erik argued, finally looking up to shrug at him. He then broke into a bright smile. "Hey!" he greeted as Loki approached. "The Tesseract has shown me so much. It's more than knowledge. It's truth," he smiled blissfully at him. Ciara rolled her eyes at how under Loki's control the scientist was.

"I know," Loki smirked, entertained by Erik's behaviour. "What did it show you, Agent Barton?" he asked as Clint turned and walked past him.

"My next target," he answered, much more straight-laced.

"Tell me what you need," Loki ordered. Clint opened the case sitting on the table.

"I need a distraction," he answered, throwing out his arm. The bow in his hand flicked open, and the bowstring snapped into place loudly. "And an eyeball," he added, walking away.

Ciara let out a quiet sigh, still not moving, not even when a shadow was cast over her in the poor, greenish light.

"You're still here," Loki said, unnecessarily. "I'm not sure if you enjoy the suffering, or you have something more in mind," he commented, a little surprised that she was still around. He had been sure she'd run off the moment he went digging in her memories. Barton had told him what he knew of Ciara's past, but he clearly hadn't known anywhere near the extent of it.

"What do you want?" she asked quietly, not looking up at him. The smallest of smirks tugged at Loki's mouth. Peeking into her memories had clearly done the trick. Her relaxed attitude with him was gone. While she wasn't falling at his feet like Erik seemed ready to do, she was scared of him. Or, at least, of what he could do if she acted out.

"You to make yourself useful, girl. Stand," he ordered, and Ciara finally looked up at him, her silver eyebrows furrowing. "You're going to help provide a distraction," he told her.

* * *

Penelope felt a yawn rising, and fought it desperately, aware that Marcus was sitting beside her rubbing his temples. Still they'd found no sign of Ciara Ellis, and they couldn't find anyone who associated themselves with her.

"How has the kid gotten this far without allies?" Marcus let some of his frustration slip as the computer beside them scanned for her face. "Surely someone has helped her in the past," he growled, flipping through his notes.

"There has to be," he looked to Penelope as she spoke confidently. She looked up, meeting his gaze. "How else would she have known about the SHIELD base? It's off the grid, she couldn't have just stumbled across it," she pointed out.

"She doesn't have anyone on the inside," Fury spoke up firmly, making colour rise to Penelope's cheeks.

"I-I wasn't in-inferring th-that Sir, I-I-I just-"

"I doubt it's that," Marcus interrupted Penelope's stammering. "She's hacked computers before, to destroy research on tracking down mutants," Penelope felt her blood go cold at his words. "What if there's someone good with computers helping her?" he suggested.

"There _is_ one, then, that might know," they looked around as Maria Hill spoke up, thoughtful. "There's a mutant with techno-path abilities, he might have gotten in through our defences," she considered.

"What abilities?" Penelope asked, confused.

"A mutant who can communicate with machines," Marcus answered, gruff. "You think they might be stupid enough to hack SHIELD?" he asked her.

"He'll hack anything that might be a challenge to him," Hill replied. "We've hired him in the past, but he still refuses to join SHIELD full time. He might have helped her," she considered.

"Then it stands to reason that he might know where she's hiding," Marcus leaned back in his seat. His exhaustion was obvious. "What's his details, I'll chase him up," he requested, but before Hill could reply, an agent spoke first.

"We got a hit," he alerted them. "67% match," the man spoke as he looked to where Coulson was talking to Steve. "Wait, cross match, 79%," he corrected.

"I have a hit too," another agent spoke up, manning the system searching for Ciara. "93% match," he announced.

"Just like that, two of them show their faces?" Marcus stood and approached with Coulson. "We've been searching for months and she shows her face?" he frowned, not liking it.

"Location?" Coulson asked, a little softer in his tone.

"Stuttgart, Germany. 28 Konigstrasse," the agents echoed each other, bringing up the footage of Loki approaching a building. He was alone, wearing a black suit and green scarf, but near the building, Ciara was leaning against the wall. She wore the same clothes as before; blue and grey in colour, made of a light but durable material, and her black cloak over them. "They're not exactly hiding," the agent commented, leaning back in his seat.

"Captain," Fury earned Steve's attention. "You're up," he told the man, who nodded wordlessly and walked off. Penelope stared at the footage of Ciara, who had a bored expression on her face.

"Miss Tournes?" she looked up in surprise as Coulson approached her. "I have a request to make," he smiled slightly at her, and Penelope's eyes widened.

* * *

Ciara leaned against the wall outside of the large building, where a charity event was underway. People dressed in suits and fancy dresses walked in, chattering away to each other. A few shot Ciara dirty looks as they walked by her, not that she blamed them. They were at a fancy event, and there was a scruffy young woman lurking outside.

" **Entschuldigen sie** ," Ciara looked up as two men approached her, looking wary. They were both dressed up in expensive suits, and were large, bulky men who towered over the slight female. Security for the party, she guessed. Immediately she drew back, her blue eyes big as she made herself cower under their gaze.

" **Ich spreche nicht sehr gut Deutsch** ," she spoke in a soft tone, remembering a small amount of German. They relaxed slightly, but still frowned at her.

"Ma'am," one spoke with a thick German accent. "You will need to leave. This is private property," he warned her.

"I'm so sorry," Ciara apologised, looking flustered. "I got a little lost, and I thought this was where I was meeting my friends. Can you point me in the best direction to get a cab?" she asked hopefully. One of them sighed while the other looked a little confused, not understanding her.

"Oh, of course," the other nodded, walking past Ciara to direct her back to the main street, before he felt a strong breeze and heard a grunt. He looked around, and saw his co-worker tipping to the ground, before a blow to the back of the head made his vision go black.

"Morons," Ciara rolled her eyes, pulling them into the shadows. Once they were secure, she glanced up to where she knew there was a camera, and smirked, wiggling her fingers at it. She knew, without a doubt, that SHIELD would be watching her.

She approached the doors, listening to the classical music being played in the room. It was pleasant, and despite its slow pace, Ciara liked it. It faded as there was a tapping noise that echoed through the building, and once the noise inside faded, a man began to speak.

He spoke in German, and Ciara immediately tuned out, her mind returning to her memories.

" _What's going on? Daddy!"_

Ciara flinched, putting her hands to her head as tears stung at her eyes. She swore quietly, backing against the wall and sliding to the ground. The floodgates had been opened and Ciara was struggling to close them again. The logical side of her mind urged her to leave, to run off and leave Loki to his insane plan. "What am I doing?" Ciara wondered aloud, letting out a heavy sigh. She wiped away her tears, and closed her eyes. "I can't leave. Not yet," she whispered to herself, before the man stopped talking, right before people screamed in alarm.

Getting to her feet, Ciara pulled the goggles from her pocket, and pulled them on to cover her eyes. She tilted her head, cracking her neck, and as she stretched, more screaming echoed from the building. Looking around, Ciara watched as they began to run from the building, stumbling in their outfits not meant for such movements.

" _Your job is to contain the flock_."

Ciara let out a quiet chuckle. "Since when was I a sheepdog?" she wondered, and leaned forwards before breaking into a run. The people at the front of the crowd were forced to stop, and the others slammed into them, as the winds around them picked up, and the blur Ciara left behind formed a barrier of sorts, boxing in the people who were still screaming in fear. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, and she heard Loki fire a pulse of energy at the police car speeding towards him, the siren blaring. It exploded, flipping and skidding by as he didn't pay it a second thought.

"Kneel before me!" Ciara heard Loki over the noise of the terrified crowd. When they turned to him, not moving, he slammed the sceptre against the ground, letting a pulse of blue light flash through the air. Ciara stopped running, backing away. "I said... _kneel_!" Loki roared, his voice echoing through the square, and slowly but surely, the crowd moved to their knees, all except one. "Are you deaf, boy?" Loki asked calmly, an eyebrow raised.

"No," the young man answered, his accent German as he spoke in English, pulling off his jacket and passing it to the girl beside him. "I just refuse to bow to a bully," Ciara's brow furrowed at his movements. "So I'll ask you nicely to back off, leave us alone, and take your magic with you," he requested.

"What makes you think that I will submit to your demands?" Loki couldn't help but chuckle. "You're alone in your convictions," he mocked, but was surprised when the young man gave a quiet laugh.

"I might be alone here," he allowed. "But I asked nicely," he threw out his arms, and fire burst to life, inciting more screams from those around him as a heat filled the area. He flung one arm forward as if he was throwing a ball, and the fire followed, billowing out in a pillar towards Loki. It burst through where he'd been standing, and the illusion faded.

"Another mutant," Loki considered aloud, not looking overly concerned as he walked over.

"It's an impressive power alright," the man spun around as Ciara appeared behind him. "And you have good control over it. Must be well hidden if you're able to join fancy pants scientists for a party," she smirked. He swung a punch, but Ciara dodged it easily. She stepped back, and swung her own arm out in a curve in front of her, not anywhere close to connecting with the other mutant, but the winds created by the fast movement caused the fire still swirling around him to die down.

"You're a mutant too? Why are you doing this?" he asked her quietly. Ciara snorted.

"Spoken just like someone who _had_ the luxury of hiding who they were," her boot slammed into his stomach faster than he could register, and he went down like a sack of bricks. The girl beside him screamed, throwing herself over him to protect him as he curled up, badly winded and barely conscious. Ciara rolled her eyes and turned, walking away. She caught Loki's eye, and he saw the frustration in her expression before she masked it. He, on the other hand, looked entirely unruffled by what had happened.

"Would anyone else like to follow in his attempts?" he turned his attention completely back to the crowd. None of them moved, too scared to react. When a scared silence followed his question, Loki gave a quiet laugh. "Is not this...simpler?" he asked, approaching them. The young man who'd tried to stop him coughed, glaring up through watery eyes, the flames on his arms extinguished. A gentle wind picked up around them, knocking Ciara's hair into her face. "Is this not your natural state? It's the unspoken truth of humanity, that you _crave_ subjugation," Loki spoke, walking through the crowd. Ciara rolled her eyes. "The bright lure of freedom, diminishes your life's joy in a mad scramble for power, your identity. You were _made_ to be ruled," he declared. Despite how quiet he spoke, his voice seemed to echo. "In the end...you will always kneel," he told them. The crowd were silent, staring at the ground in a desperate bid to avoid his wrath, or Ciara's.

To their surprise, a man stood. He was old, and glared at Loki. Ciara watched him, seeing the shake in his hands, which he kept firmly by his sides.

"Not to men like you," the man spoke, frail but loud enough for everyone to hear.

"There are no men like me," Loki couldn't help but laugh. The old man, however, didn't falter. For just a moment, he looked to the man on the ground, who was still unable to move. He then looked back up to meet Loki's entertained gaze.

"There are _always_ men like you," he answered, his voice sad. Ciara dropped her arms to her sides, tilting her head.

" _Little rat!" Ciara let out a whimper as she hit the ground, her face stinging from yet another blow. Tears of pain stung at her eyes, but she didn't let them fall. "Disgusting. Mutants like you, hiding in plain sight, acting like you're human when you're not," she was then kicked back down, and the boot pressed into her back. The heel dug in, and she fought back a scream. "You will_ never _be more than the dirt under our boots. You will never be human," he hissed._

Ciara inhaled a ragged breath, and watched as the man faced Loki despite his fear. The smile had faded from his face, lingering slightly as his brows rose in slight amusement. He was quiet for a moment, before raising his sceptre. Ciara felt the energy grow, and took a step back. "Look to your elder, people," the old man shifted, but didn't try to run. "Let him be an example," he let the blast fly, but before it could hit the old man, someone leapt in the way. The blast bounced, and hit Loki, knocking him to the ground as people screamed.

"It's him," Ciara whispered, putting a hand to her mouth as Captain America stood up.

"You know, the last time I was in Germany, and saw a man standing above everybody else," Captain America approached Loki with a pleasant smile. "We ended up disagreeing," he finished.

"The _Soldier_ ," Loki sneered as he got back to his feet. "A man out of time," he mocked. Captain America just gave a quiet chuckle.

"I'm not the one who's out of time," he said, and behind him, a carrier jet flew into view. A gun turret emerged from the bottom, aimed directly at them.

" _Loki, put down the weapon and stand down_ ," a female voice ordered, and Loki immediately reacted, firing a blast into the sky that forced the jet to move. He was then knocked back as Captain America's shield slammed into him, and Ciara sat down on a low wall to watch.

"They only brought the one in? What a bore," she complained, resting her head in her hand as she watched the two fight. Loki seemed to have the upper hand, but the American hero was strong too, and persistent. She looked up, her attention diverted, when the young man from before stood in front of her with the girl who'd tried to shield him. "You again? Figured you'd be long gone," Ciara didn't move.

"Not yet," he let the flames blaze around his arms again, and Ciara chuckled.

"Okay, let's try this again," she darted forwards at the two, only for the girl to wave her hand. Ciara stopped in front of them before she reached them, and lifted a hand. Her finger tapped against something solid, and it trembled at her touch, reflecting the light for just a second. "A shield. Cute trick," Ciara chuckled.

"You won't get away with this," the girl vowed.

"Please," Ciara scoffed. "In the time you've spent hiding yourselves in plain sight, I've been causing trouble and mastering my powers. I'll give you one chance. Leave," Ciara ordered, her smile gone.

* * *

 **Hope you liked it!**

 **Please review!**


	6. Following the Lightning

**So while the MCU doesn't have much in the way of referencing mutants, I wanted to bring them to the surface and make them more of a focal point for my stories. As evidenced by me throwing them in everywhere.  
**

 **Hope you like it!**

* * *

Chapter 6: Following the Lightning

Alvar and Christa had to admit, Ciara was on a whole other level compared to them.

Super speed against a much more offensive mutant ability; Alvar was certain she wouldn't get the jump on him again. Not with Christa's ability on his side. She could run fast, but how would that help against fire?

He'd quickly learned that just because he had a power that could damage, didn't mean he was guaranteed a win. Like the speedster had said, he'd hidden his powers from the world instead of training them. He just couldn't catch her as she darted around, stopped only by Christa's barrier around them.

"You should have taken my offer," Ciara sighed, stopping in front of them. Alvar cursed at her in German and threw his hand back up, and Ciara darted away as the flames poured out of the window Christa had opened for him. He then slumped, and the young woman beside him caught him, supporting him. "All you're doing is tiring yourself out. It's _boring_. Even they're having a better time of it than we are," before he could stop himself, Alvar looked over to where Captain America was fighting Loki. The man was struggling to land a blow, but didn't give up.

"We will stop you," Alvar turned back to Ciara, who snorted.

"How? You're the ones boxed in using your powers to defend yourselves," she mocked.

"Think again," Christa hissed, and Ciara blinked, seeing the shimmer shift.

" _Oh_ ," she breathed, reaching out to touch the almost completely transparent wall in front of her. "It's not a shield, but a barrier you can manipulate," she realised, looking around to confirm she was trapped. "Okay, _now_ I'm impressed. That's a cool power," Ciara laughed, not worried at all.

"Mutants like you are the reason we kept ourselves hidden," Alvar growled at her. Ciara stopped laughing, tilting her head.

"We shouldn't _have_ to hide," she argued back, shrugging.

"How are normal people supposed to accept us, if Mutants like you are using your powers to scare them and cause damage like this?" Alvar argued, not understanding her. He flinched, when her fists slammed against the barrier.

"Who gives a shit if they 'accept us'?" she demanded. "Humans look for nothing more than to crush and restrain or manipulate anything remotely different. We don't need to cause trouble for them to fear us. Just take a look at yourselves. You did nothing but try to defend the crowd, and what will you be repaid with? Fear," Ciara scoffed, disgusted with their attitude. "So don't try and lord yourselves over me when you cower against them," Alvar stared at her.

"You're mad," Christa declared, a tremble in her voice.

"Obviously," Ciara retorted, and stepped back from the edge of the barrier. Inside her prison, she began to spin. She quickly increased in speed, and the winds inside the barrier picked up, making it rattle. Christa let out a whimper, stumbling as she held up both hands in an attempt to keep it in place. The rattling grew louder, and the invisible walls shattered. Christa gasped loudly, and collapsed, with Alvar barely catching her. Before he could react, Ciara's fist collided with his face, and the two crumpled to the ground unconscious.

Ciara walked away as the winds quickly died down, not looking back at them. "Pathetic," she muttered, flicking her hair out of her face. When the jet above started to blast music, she looked up, frowning, and saw a familiar gold and red figure flying towards them. She let out a laugh. "So the tin man has come to play too," she murmured.

She was content to watch what was going to happen, when pain suddenly exploded in the back of her head, and she fell forwards, seeing a young woman with pale brown hair standing over her, before everything went dark.

* * *

When Ciara regained consciousness, she felt a weightless sensation in her stomach, and through the haze, she realised they were in the air.

"Who hit so hard?" she complained, opening her eyes and looking up at the two men standing in the middle of the carrier. "Unnecessary, I'm delicate," Ciara complained, her tone light as if she was commenting on the weather.

"Somehow I doubt that," Tony Stark muttered, still wearing his Iron Man suit, without the helmet. "Considering the number you did on those two civilians," he commented, his gaze on her wary. Ciara blinked, looking offended.

"I didn't touch the girl," she replied, looking down at the shackles around her wrists. They were heavy, giving her very little motion, and the ones around her ankles kept her bolted to the ground. Not that she had any reason to try bolting just yet. "But wow, what an honour. Tracked down and captured by Iron Man, Captain America, and the Black Widow. I guess I've made it in life," Ciara drawled, before noticing another young woman in the corner, keeping to herself and staring at her hands. "You on the other hand, I don't know," she admitted, completely ignoring Loki as he did the same to everyone around him.

"How embarrassing for you then," Ciara arched an eyebrow as Tony snorted.

"Stark," Steve hissed in warning.

"She was the one who took down your cocky ass, kid," Tony ignored him, and Ciara looked back at the young woman. She was dressed in a suit similar to Natasha's, with her brown hair pulled out of her face. She had looked up at Tony's words, her cheeks going red in a blush. She met Ciara's gaze, and watched as the smirk faded and was replaced by curiosity. Flustered, she looked back down at her hands again, looking over a file.

"Boring," Ciara snorted, leaning back. The back of her head still hurt in a dull throbbing pain, and she glanced to the woman again curiously. She hadn't held back in striking her, which led Ciara to believe that she was not only stronger than she looked, but smarter. Anything less might have only stunned the speedster. But that wasn't what interested Ciara the most. The woman looked up, and met Ciara's gaze with a nervous one of her own. Her attitude was entirely different to everyone else there. And Ciara wanted to know just _how_ she'd managed to sneak up on her.

"I don't like it," Steve's quiet words to Tony earned her attention.

"What, Rock of Ages giving up so easy?" Steve huffed at Tony's casual attitude.

"I don't remember it being that easy. This guy packs a wallop," he warned, shooting Loki a suspicious glare. Loki didn't even blink. If he could hear them, he was putting on a good show of playing dumb. "And if Tournes hadn't taken down Ellis when she had, it could have gotten worse," he warned.

"Still, you are pretty spry for an older fellow," Tony didn't seem to take him seriously. "What's your thing? Pilates?" he asked, finally looking at Steve.

"What?" the Captain asked, baffled.

"You might have missed a couple of things, you know, doing time as a Capsicle," Tony spoke lightly, but it was obvious he was mocking the concerned man. Steve didn't reply immediately, his brow furrowed.

"Fury didn't tell me he was calling you in," he finally spoke, deciding to ignore the barbs.

"Yeah, there's a lot of things Fury doesn't tell you," Tony shrugged, and Ciara arched an eyebrow at his attitude. There was something more to what Tony was saying, and it made her very interested. The jet suddenly jolted, and the sky lit up.

"Where's this coming from?" Natasha wondered from the pilot's seat, looking up as lightning flashed. It illuminated the entire sky, and Loki finally moved, his eyes going to the window as his blank expression was worn away by concern.

"What's the matter?" Steve asked him, noticing his sudden nervous attitude. "Scared of a little lightning?" he asked, irritable.

"I'm not overly fond of what follows," Loki answered him as the jet shook from the changes in wind. Ciara frowned, before she realised what he meant.

"Oh no..." she started to laugh, and everyone but Loki glanced to her. "This is gonna be good," Ciara laughed.

"What are you talking about?" Steve asked as he shifted his weight to keep on his feet. Ciara just grinned, and a moment later, something collided with the top of the jet, making it jerk madly.

"What was that?" Penelope was on her feet as well as Tony put his helmet back on.

"Better stay back, twinkle toes," he warned her, pushing her backwards towards the front of the jet. He hit a button, and an alarm blared as the back of the jet began to open.

"What are you doing?" Steve shouted as he caught Penelope and eased her down into a seat. Tony didn't answer as he approached the open door, only for a figure to land in front of him.

Thor looked up, fury in his gaze as he locked onto Loki, who stared at him with wide eyes. Aware there were others present, the God of Thunder turned to Iron Man when he lifted his hand to attack. Thor reacted faster, and slammed Mjolnir into his chest. The man in the robotic suit was tossed across and into Steve, bringing him down with him. Ciara watched with amusement as Thor tore Loki out of his bindings and yanked him to his feet by his neck. Without waiting for Loki to speak, or for the other two to get back up, he spun Mjolnir and flew off.

"Now there's that guy," Iron Man muttered.

"Another Asgardian?" Natasha called, unable to move away from the pilot's seat. Ciara couldn't help but laugh.

"Do you know who that was?" Captain America demanded, seeing Ciara's reaction.

"Doesn't matter," Iron Man snapped before Ciara could speak. "If he frees Loki or kills him, the Tesseract's lost," he pointed out, storming over to the still open doors.

"Stark, we need a plan of attack!" Captain America shouted after him.

"I have a plan," he frowned at the reply. "Attack," with that, Iron Man flew off after Thor. Captain America let out an exasperated smile.

"You might want to stay out of this one Cap," he glanced to Ciara as she smirked.

"And why do you say that?" he asked.

"Because the Norse legends are true. They're Gods, and powerful ones at that," the speedster answered. Penelope stared at her with wide eyes. Captain America just lifted a parachute and strapped it against his back, before giving a polite smile.

"There's only one god, ma'am, and I'm pretty sure he doesn't dress like that," he told her, lifting his shield. Ciara couldn't help but laugh at his honesty.

"I guess that's why you're the legendary hero," she commented, and he didn't reply, leaping out of the jet. Natasha closed the doors, and circled, waiting for contact. "Guess it's just the girls now," Ciara drawled, moving to make the chains clink together.

"Enough, Ciara," Natasha warned. Ciara just gave a quiet chuckle, and looked to Penelope again, who jolted as she was caught staring. Ciara winked at her, and Penelope quickly looked away, flustered once again, and blushed as she heard the speedster laughing.

* * *

When the four returned to the carrier, Thor was stunned to see Ciara in chains, looking bored.

"Ciara Ellis?" he spoke after shoving Loki roughly down into a seat again. His brother rolled his eyes but made no sound.

"Hey big guy," she gave a lazy smile back. "Welcome back," she greeted, and his frown grew.

"Why is she in chains?" he demanded, turning to Tony and Steve. "She aided me greatly when I came to Earth last year," he told them.

"She also helped your brother injure and kill multiple civilians in Germany," Natasha spoke, shooting Ciara a glare. Thor's eyes widened.

"I didn't kill anyone," Ciara's tone was light at the accusation, and her attention seemed focused out the window as they flew through the dark. She was aware of Thor's blue eyes on her, but purposely didn't look at him as he tried to understand why she would help Loki in his attempt to rule the world.

He recalled the night he'd attempted to reclaim Mjolnir and failed. Ciara had offered to help him break into SHIELD's base despite the risk to herself. And when he'd asked her why she would help him, her answer had been simple. 'Because it'll be fun', she'd said. Thor had been unsure of if he could trust her then, but she had helped him, and then helped against the Destroyer, even saving Sif despite arguing with her previously. The warrior hadn't cared for her attitude in the slightest, and now he could understand why. She'd helped him because it was fun, and now, it seemed, she was helping his brother on the opposing side for the same reason.

Thor kept quiet, concerned for the mortal girl's safety if she continued the path she was on. As he looked to Steve and Tony, he missed Loki's faint smirk.

* * *

The sun was just beginning to rise when the jet arrived at the Helicarrier. Cloaked in the sky, the massive airship was hidden from almost everyone. As they landed, the passengers currently not in chains moved off and allowed the agents waiting to attach new chains and lead the two out.

Ciara hummed to herself, guided along by two agents behind the much larger group leading Loki to the cell. She looked around, and they passed a laboratory, where a nervous looking man watched in surprise. Loki smirked at him, while Ciara tilted her head, fascinated by him. She had been unsure if they were going to bring Bruce in, considering how uncontrollable the Hulk was, but here he was.

"Move it," when she slowed down, one of the men guiding her gave the chains a sharp tug, and Ciara stumbled forwards. Her fists clenched and she struggled to bite her tongue at his behaviour, but continued along wordlessly.

When they turned down another corridor, the chains suddenly fell slack. "Hey!" the agent barked, thinking she'd fallen, but when he gave another tug, the chains rattled loudly and the two whirled around to find Ciara was gone.

"How did she-"

"Find her," the other agent snapped before he could ask, and Loki glanced around as they ran off. As they turned down one way, Ciara moved down the other way, and stopped as she saw him. She smirked, waving to him before running off. Loki rolled his eyes and continued walking as the agents escorting him recovered from the surprise. He recalled her ability to escaping the binding Barton had tied her in. She'd claimed very little could restrain her, and it seemed she was telling the truth. But he would hold true to his word too. If she interfered in any way, he'd kill her.

* * *

 **Let me know what you think!**


	7. Lost

**So my computer has finally been fixed after a week of refusing to turn on, so I'm celebrating with updating, right before I head back to Belfast for a week without my computer.  
**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 7: Lost

" _Disappeared_?" even though the anger wasn't directed at her, Penelope flinched at Marcus' angry voice as it echoed around the bridge of the Helicarrier. "It's a bleedin' airship, she's hardly just walked off!" he shouted at the agents responsible for losing Ciara. "We have been trying to catch this girl for almost a year! And you lost her in less than five feckin' minutes!" he roared, and they flinched.

"Marcus, your accent is starting to make you hard to understand," Hill offered a smile as he stepped between the irate man and the two agents. "And berating them isn't going to find Ellis. It's like you said, while we're in the air, she has nowhere to go. We'll find her," she soothed. Marcus scowled at him, but didn't keep yelling.

"She'll avoid cameras as much as she can, so we'll look for blind spots and places with lower security," Penelope spoke up quickly, and walked over to the two men. "Keep quiet. If she hears or sees you coming, she'll get away," she warned them.

"Can't we corner her?" one asked.

"That's not a wise decision," Marcus shook his head. "She packs a punch when she chooses to fight back. Avoid confrontation," he ordered, and they nodded, rushing off. He then sighed heavily, slumping down into his chair. "Good job getting her here Tournes," he spoke again, making her jump.

"It was really thanks to Mr Stark, his arrival distracted her," she told him, blushing. Marcus just snorted, looking unimpressed at the mention of the man. He then turned his attention to the video in front of him, the feed showing Fury speaking with Loki. The man walked off, leaving Loki locked in a massive glass and metal cell.

"He really grows on you, doesn't he?" Bruce offered a weak smile, folding his arms as they closed off the video feed.

"Loki's going to drag this out," Steve warned, sitting at the table, still in his uniform. "So...Thor, what's his play?" he asked, looking to the massive Asgardian who was standing with his back to them, deep in thought.

"He has an army. Called the Chitari," Thor's voice was low as he gave the warning. "They're not of Asgard or any world known. He means to lead them against your people, and they will win him the Earth. In return, I suspect, for the Tesseract," he said, turning to face them.

"An army. From outer space," Steve summed up, voice heavy with resignation.

"So he's building another portal," Bruce realised, pulling off his glasses. "That's what he needs Erik Selvig for," Thor's brow immediately furrowed at the name.

"Selvig?" he turned to Bruce.

"He's an astrophysicist," Bruce explained, mistaking the confusion.

"He's a friend," Thor told him, and Bruce's eyes widened slightly in surprise.

"Loki has him under some sort of spell," Natasha finally spoke up. "Along with one of ours," she looked away, her concern for Barton obvious. Penelope sighed, wishing she could do more to help.

"I wanna know why Loki let us take him. He's not leading an army from here," Steve pointed out.

"I don't think we should be focusing on Loki," Bruce argued, sceptical. "That guy's brain is a bag full of cats. You can smell crazy on him," he complained.

"Have care how you speak," Thor warned, looking offended by Bruce's words. "Loki is beyond reason but he is of Asgard. And he is my brother," he told the man firmly.

"He killed 80 people in two days," Natasha told him flatly, and Thor immediately paled.

"He's adopted?" he offered weakly.

"What about the girl with him? Ciara Ellis?" Bruce asked, looking from one to another. "She's not under his spell like Selvig and Barton. Why's she helping him?" he asked, looking from one to another.

"I met Ciara Ellis when I came to Earth last year," Thor spoke up. "She spoke of only acting where she finds the most enjoyment. Unfortunately, Loki's side seems to pose much more interest to her," he sighed.

"Who is she exactly?" Steve asked. "She's a Mutant, I get that, but what's her affiliation with all this?" Marcus cleared his throat at the question, and nudged Penelope.

"O-oh, here!" she squeaked, rushing forwards and handing them folders. Flipping it open, Thor's brow furrowed even more as Bruce let out a whistle as he read through it.

"Looks like she's well used to this life," Steve commented softly as he read through it.

"And considering her family, I'm not surprised," Bruce muttered. "Honestly I'm amazed she's alive and running around, considering," he commented to himself, thinking about it.

"I do not understand," Thor flicked through the pages, detailing Ciara's background. "Who is...Bolivar Trask?" he asked the others there.

"Probably one of the biggest anti-Mutant campaigners in the world," they looked around as Tony Stark walked in. He stopped, whispering to Coulson who walked with him. "He's known to have experimented on Mutants in the past, and used the data to build his Mutant killer machines," both Steve and Thor looked horrified at his words. "But what I'm interested in is what was stolen last night when we were busy," he told them, changing the subject.

"Iridium, exactly," Bruce nodded. "What do they need it for?" he asked.

"It's a stabilising agent. It means the portal won't collapse on itself like it did at SHIELD," Tony explained, hands in his pockets as he walked by. He looked up at Thor, who was much taller than him. "No hard feelings Point-Break, you got a mean swing," he complimented, patting Thor with the back of his hand. Thor arched an eyebrow at him. "Also, means the portal can open as wide and stay open as long as Loki wants," he continued. Hill rolled her eyes and turned away from him. "Raise the mizzenmast, jib the top sails," Tony said as he stood at the front. The agents who were working, looked up at him with frowns. "That man is playing Galaga! Thought we wouldn't notice. But we did," he declared loudly.

"Being in the room with that man for even 30 seconds makes me need a drink," Marcus complained quietly. Penelope covered her mouth to hide her smile.

"How does Fury even see these?" Tony asked, gesturing to the screens where Fury normally stood by.

"He turns," Hill answered dryly.

"Sounds exhausting," Tony complained, walking over to one of the screens. "The rest of the raw materials, Agent Barton can get his hands on pretty easily," he continued with what he had been saying before. "The only major component he needs is a power source, of high-energy density, something to kick-start the Cube," he turned to the group, and none noticed him place a small device on the side of the computer.

"When did you become an expert in thermo-nuclear astrophysics?" Hill asked him, suspicious.

"Last night," Tony answered bluntly, making her arch an eyebrow. "The packet. Selvig's notes. The extraction theory papers? Am I the only one who did the reading?" he asked the group.

"Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?" Steve interrupted before Tony could continue on.

"He'd have to heat the Cube to a hundred and twenty million kelvin just to break through the Coolum Barrier," Bruce answered, thinking about it.

"Unless Selvig has figured out how to stabilise the quantum tunnelling effect," Tony continued for him.

"Well, if he could do that, he could achieve heavy ion fusion at any reactor on the planet," Bruce theorised. Tony grinned widely, approaching the man.

"Finally," he sighed with relief. "Someone who speaks English," Tony reached out a hand to Bruce, his posture much more confident than the other scientist.

"Is that what just happened?" Steve muttered, and Penelope had to agree with him.

"It's good to meet you, Doctor Banner," Tony shook his hand. "Your work on anti-electron collisions is unparalleled. And I'm a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster," Bruce blinked rapidly at him.

"Thanks..." he muttered, unsure of how to take that.

"Doctor Banner is only here to track the Cube," Fury came to Bruce's defence, arriving at the bridge. "I was hoping you might join him," he commented, but his tone made it clear that he _wanted_ , rather than hoped.

"I'd start with that stick of his. It might be magical, but it works an awful lot like a Hydra weapon," Steve warned.

"I don't know about that. But it is powered by the Cube. And I'd like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know, into his personal flying monkeys," Fury declared.

"And why it didn't work on Ellis," Natasha added. Fury gave a nod of his head.

"It didn't?" they looked to Thor as he spoke. "It should have. That sceptre does not discriminate. It will possess anyone it touches," he told them.

"Well it didn't her. And I intend on finding out why," Fury told the Asgardian. Thor nodded slowly, unhappy with the lack of answers.

"Shall we play, Doctor?" Tony turned to Bruce, who nodded, and the two left the bridge, returning to the lab where Bruce had been working. As Bruce handed Penelope back the file with a smile before leaving, she looked down at it, and a determined look worked its way onto her face.

"I'm going to join the search for Ellis," she told Marcus, who arched an eyebrow and leaned back in his seat.

"Don't push yourself, Tournes. You've just gotten back from Germany. Rest up if you need to," he told her, but the young woman shook her head.

"Thank you Sir. I'm fine," she insisted, and hurried off before he could stop her. Marcus shrugged to himself, and went back to searching through the cameras.

* * *

Ciara gave a low groan as she stretched out her arms, moving to press her hands on the small of her back to crack it.

"That was too easy," she declared to herself, her voice echoing through the empty corridor she'd found. Taking a seat, the speedster drummed her hands against her knees idly. "They know I'll avoid cameras as much as I can, so I probably won't be safe for long here," Ciara considered aloud, sighing as she leaned back, pressing her back to the cold wall behind her.

She could feel a low hum through the wall and flooring, as the engines worked to keep the Helicarrier in the air. It fascinated her, but at the same time, it made her nervous. There was nowhere to run in the sky. She avoided flying for exactly that reason.

Ciara's eyes shot open, when she heard a small clank of something hitting metal, and immediately got to her feet. When someone hushed another in a hiss, she pulled the hood of her cloak up, and felt the familiar warmth fill her body as she vanished into the shadows.

"I can't believe we got lumped with finding the prisoner," one man complained to another as they walked into view, looking around. The other hissed again, trying to get him to be quieter. "I signed up for helping to stop terrorists, and fighting stuff that's kept out of the media," he continued, ignoring the attempts to keep him quiet. "Instead we're stuck looking for an escaped mutant who's only threat is that they can _run fast_ ," he mocked. Ciara's fists clenched at his mocking tone.

"You really are an idiot," his companion finally spoke, rolling his eyes. "She's evaded capture for _months_ , and she's working alongside that guy that killed a load of SHIELD agents, _and_ some scientists," he argued as they walked by. Ciara had to fight not to react. 'Alongside' wasn't entirely accurate. "Come on, and keep quiet. We'll never catch her if she hears us coming," he pushed the other agent, and they continued walking. Ciara moved in the opposite direction, keeping to the shadows to avoid detection.

"Hear them coming..." she murmured as she walked, thinking back to Germany. She'd definitely not heard Penelope approach. Part of her put it down to Stark blasting music to announce his arrival, right before helping take Loki down, that she hadn't been paying attention to her surroundings. But something about that bugged her. It was part of her Mutant ability; she was hyper aware of everything around her. Even if she was distracted, she could tell if something was going on around her.

Deep in thought about the strange agent, Ciara wandered the Helicarrier. Keeping to the shadows, the fugitive avoided everyone who walked around the ship, and eventually came across the lab where Tony and Bruce were working. Peering in, she saw the sceptre glowing in the artificial light that kept the lab bright as they worked through the night. When Bruce looked up sharply, Ciara darted away, retreating farther into the shadows.

"What's up big guy?" Tony asked, noticing the action as Bruce removed his glasses to rub his eyes with his fingertips.

"Thought someone was there," he muttered. "Think I'm just being...paranoid," the scrawny scientist smiled bashfully. He cast another glance at the window, and returned to what he was doing, and Ciara peeked in again.

"Another one too cautious for their own good," she murmured to herself, moving on through the corridors, and looking back at the lab. "So they got the big guy in for helping track the Cube. Smart," she murmured to herself, and put a hand to her chest.

She could still feel it, in the corner of her mind. The pull the Tesseract had on her. Even now, miles from wherever Loki had sent it, she was still very aware of its presence _somewhere._

Taking a breath, Ciara shook her head and continued walking, stepping through a doorway. She stopped as she was greeted by a large glass prison in the centre of the room, and tilted her head.

"Miss me already?" Loki's voice echoed from inside, and she rolled her eyes.

"More like got lost," Ciara sniffed, approaching it curiously. "It's definitely overkill for you, but there's no doubt who it was really built for," she commented, hands behind her back as Loki kept his back to her. "I'm surprised they didn't put a bunch more guards around. They're really certain you can't escape there," Ciara turned, and spotted a camera aimed directly at her. She smirked, waving with a wiggle of her fingers at it. "Though I imagine it'll not be long until they all converge here," she considered.

"Do you ever stop talking?" Loki gave an irritated sigh, still refusing to look at her. Ciara turned back to him with a flourish, putting her hands behind her back.

"I could have asked you the same, what with that performance in Germany," she retaliated.

"If you're only here to mock," Loki glanced over his shoulder, looking bored. "Then you might as well leave and continue leading these fools around in circles. You will find I'm not a verbal sparring partner for you," he then turned away, almost sticking his nose in the air.

" _Oh_ ," Ciara let out a giggle, leaning forwards. "Someone didn't appreciate my comment," she accused with a smirk.

"You're as irritating as a fly buzzing around asking to be swatted, girl. Are you truly that bored on this ship?" Loki didn't look at her, wishing his curiosity hadn't won out and let her live.

"Not quite," Ciara said, and turned, faster than Penelope had expected, and grabbed her wrist. Her smirk turned malicious as Penelope struggled in her grasp.

"Let me go," the young woman lashed out as Loki glanced around, his brow furrowed, and Ciara dodged, before letting Penelope go. She kicked her, hard enough to knock the agent to the ground, winded. The prisoner turned completely, staring at the coughing girl on the ground.

"I figured it out," Ciara stood over Penelope, who looked up as she struggled to catch her breath. "Why you were able to sneak up on me back in Germany. You're a _mutant_ ," her accusation had the expected reaction. The brown haired young woman's eyes widened, and her heart leapt into her throat. Ciara felt a rush of glee. "I was right! I knew that had to be it. Nobody sneaks up on me so easily, even with Stark demanding all the attention," she laughed, taking a step back.

"What are you talking about?" Penelope managed to get to her feet, ignoring the pain in her chest.

"I'm not too sure how you do it," Ciara shrugged, walking around. She glanced to Loki, and smirked as she saw his attempt to hide his own surprise at the revelation. "But you can make yourself silent. Make it so others can't hear you coming. That's why you sneaked up behind me, both times," Penelope swallowed as Ciara guessed it correctly. "But since you caught me off guard the first time, I've been a bit more careful. Saw your reflection in the glass," Ciara rapped her knuckles off the glass.

"I don't know what you're talking about, but I will take you down," Penelope grabbed her gun, but in a flash, Ciara was in front of her, holding her wrist in the air, and the gun was clattering away as her hand stung from the blow.

"You lost the element of surprise. Any chance of beating me went south the moment I knew you were there," Ciara mocked her, and swung a fast punch. The blow knocked Penelope out cold, and Ciara let her crumple to the ground by her feet. "Boring. I miss the _fun_ mutants who actually gave me a challenge," she complained with a roll of her eyes.

"Must you make so much noise?" Loki was sitting now, his back to Ciara again as he sounded irritated by her speaking.

"Oh, Loki," he didn't react as she pressed her fingertips to the glass. "Don't get boring," her voice was soft and gentle, and with that, she was gone.

"Tournes!" Marcus ran in, flanked by multiple guards, and rushed over to the girl. "Find her!" he barked at the men, who immediate rushed off as he crouched beside Penelope. He shot Loki a suspicious look, but the prisoner didn't even acknowledge them. As he tried to wake the girl, Ciara ran through the Helicarrier, her being buzzing with adrenaline. She'd almost been caught again by the agent, and despite her bluster, Ciara had only noticed her at the last second.

Finally she stopped, in a quiet, dark corner, where she sank to the ground, despite not being even slightly out of breath. After a moment of quiet, she laughed to herself, leaning her head back against the wall.

"God, I really hope this stays fun," Ciara mused aloud, before hearing footsteps. Pulling her hood fully over her head, she vanished into the shadows easily, and watched as a familiar figure walked by. He was quiet, looking around him as if he knew what he was doing was wrong, but he continued walking.

Fighting back an excited laugh, Ciara got back to her feet, watching Captain America as he walked straight towards the storage area. "Okay," she nodded to herself. "Looks like it will," she giggled quietly, and followed the hero towards storage.

* * *

 **Hope you liked it!**

 **Let me know what you think!**


	8. Phase 2

Chapter 8: Phase 2

The logical part of Steve Rogers' mind told him to go back. To return to the bridge and wait for any news on the location of the Tesseract. Or, perhaps, join the search for the prisoner who'd escaped on the ship. It told him to do something useful, instead of rising to Tony's paranoid considerations. And he might have been able to disregard them, even if they did make sense, if Bruce hadn't stepped in to agree with Tony.

So here he was, searching for anything that SHIELD and Nick Fury were hiding.

"Wrong way," he stopped, whirling around, and saw Ciara leaning against a wall. Her arms were folded, and she was smirking. "If you want the real juicy stuff, you should head to the secure storage. That's this way," she told him simply, and turned, walking the way she'd indicated.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" Steve chased after her, but to his frustration, she kept just out of reach, easily outpacing him and not even breaking a sweat.

"I'm showing you what you're looking for," Ciara answered simply, turning and moving backwards, still keeping just out of reach. Steve knew she could easily escape him, even with his enhanced abilities. She was leading him somewhere, and while he knew it was wrong to let her, not only was he curious about what it could be, but he couldn't just walk away and leave her to continue wandering the Helicarrier unchecked.

"What is it?" he asked as she stopped at a turn.

"Reasons why SHIELD can't be trusted," Ciara replied simply, and suddenly blurred out of view, leaving a silver and black streak that turned the corner. Frowning, Steve followed it, and came across a heavy metal door, labelled "Secure Storage 10-C". He hesitated, looking in at the dark room, before his determination took over. With some effort, he forced the door open, and stepped inside. The room was noticeably colder, kept to a certain degree, and he glanced back before stepping inside. "Take a look around," he jumped, whirling around at Ciara's voice, but wherever she was, he couldn't see her.

"Ellis, come on!" his voice echoed around the room as he continued to sweep the room. "You know it's a wasted effort running around here. There's nowhere left to go!" Steve warned her, and heard her laughter in response.

"Captain, please," Ciara appeared above him, leaning on the railings with an amused smirk. "There's always somewhere to go," she taunted, and vanished in a blur again. "Have fun!" her words echoed around the room, and he waited for another moment, but it seemed she was already gone. Shaking his head, Steve jumped onto a crate and leapt up onto the higher level, starting to take a look around.

Ciara watched from the shadows, as Captain America looked around to find the crates marked "Phase 2". She smirked to herself, knowing what the honourable, heroic man would do when he found just what SHIELD had been using the Tesseract for. She'd known for some time, and she had her suspicions that this was what finally pushed SHIELD to try and hunt her down.

She leapt down from the crates she'd been sitting on, and moved towards the way out, leaving Steve to his hunt. "This really just gets better," Ciara hummed to herself.

* * *

"I'm so sorry," Penelope apologised to Coulson and Marcus as she stood in front of them. She kept the ice pack pressed to the dark purple bruise by her jaw, feeling the pain with every word she spoke. "I failed to capture Ellis," she didn't look at them, instead staring at her feet.

"You came a damn lot closer than anyone else has since we started this hunt, Tournes," Marcus shook his head.

"He's right," Coulson gave a warm smile to the young woman as she looked up. Marcus had his arms folded and was looking away, but his usual stern look was a lot less harsh than usual. "You were also the one who captured her in the first place and brought her here," he pointed out.

"She figured it out. What I can do," Penelope explained to them, looking from one to the other. "She figured it out so quickly, I don't..." she trailed off helplessly.

"Ellis has always been intelligent," Coulson explained with a shrug. "It comes as no surprise to me that she figured out your powers. She's surrounded herself with her own kind for years, she knows how to spot other mutants," he pointed out, and she sighed.

"I don't think I'll be able to get another chance like that again. She's too wary of me now. I'm sorry," Penelope apologised again, feeling useless.

"Tournes, this isn't all up to you, you know," Marcus pointed out gruffly, and she looked at him with wide eyes. "You aren't the only one on the team. Your power gave you an advantage. It didn't work out, so we'll work on another play," he told her, meeting her gaze. Coulson nodded in agreement. "We'll get her," Marcus said confidently.

"R-right," Penelope nodded, wishing she felt as confident about it. She glanced to the file on the desk with Ciara's name on it, and sighed. She'd been thinking about it for a while, since she first read into Ciara's background. She reached out and tapped the table with her nail, letting her power kick in. Any noise that should have been created by the metal being struck, was absorbed through the nail, leaving nothing but a silence.

She couldn't help but wonder, what life would have been like for herself, if her parents hadn't been as accepting as they were. She was only young when the truth of mutants was finally broadcast to the world, despite SHIELD's best efforts to keep it hidden. And from the moment it was revealed, Penelope could remember almost nothing but stories about mutants appearing everywhere, causing trouble wherever they went. Some fought amongst themselves, claiming to be fighting for good, but wherever they went, destruction still followed.

Even with her parents accepting her powers, Penelope hid them. She worked to control her powers, but beyond that, she hid them, pretending to be normal. She hadn't wanted a part of the destruction, the infamy, that came from being a mutant who openly displayed what they could do. She wondered, if her childhood hadn't been as loving; if it had been more like Ciara's, would she have been the same as her?

"Tournes," she jumped, and looked up as Marcus snapped her from her thoughts. "Get some sleep. You've not rested since you got back from Germany, so go sleep," he told her.

"But Sir, with Ellis still running around the ship-"

"You're no good to us sleep deprived," Marcus cut her off firmly as Penelope tried to argue. "Go and rest up. That's an order," he said. Forgetting herself, Penelope sighed heavily and got to her feet.

"Yes sir," she nodded to the pair, and traipsed off, unwilling to admit how tired she really was. As soon as she was gone, Coulson chuckled, and Marcus frowned.

"What?" he asked.

"You're very sweet with her," Coulson smiled pleasantly, but Marcus had known him long enough to see the teasing behind it. His dark brow furrowed at the shorter man. "Almost fatherly," he added, and Marcus felt his cheeks warm against his will.

"Feck off Phil," Marcus rolled his eyes and stomped off. "I'm going to check the security footage. See if Ellis has stopped long enough to be picked up," he declared, and Coulson watched, still laughing to himself.

* * *

"This is pretty good," Ciara admitted out loud, a mouth full of bread. She slipped into the shadows, eating what she'd pilfered from the kitchen when the staff weren't paying attention. Her stomach grumbled, pleased by the meal after several hours without anything.

She walked through the corridors again, finding herself growing bored once again. It had been a little while since she'd led Steve to the storage area, and she was wondering what to do now.

Ciara sighed, and started on the sandwich she'd stolen, devouring it quickly. She knew Loki had a much bigger plan that had been let on. The Tesseract was still on the move, and SHIELD still hadn't even come close to locating it. At the rate they were going, they would only find it when it had opened up another gateway.

The speedster stopped walking, her hand falling to her side with the half eaten sandwich still there. She struggled to swallow the mouthful, her mind on the Tesseract. Even now, she still felt it. Ciara had figured it was a lingering effect of being near it, and that being away should have caused that pull to fade, but it was still there. She wanted to go to it, and that scared her.

She huffed, shoving the rest of her sandwich into her mouth. "Get out of my head," she hissed to herself, refusing to acknowledge the pull the Tesseract still had on her.

Turning the corner, Ciara was still trying to ignore the lingering thoughts, and walked straight into someone. They barely even moved, as she fell backwards, feeling as if she'd walked into a wall. Thor turned, frowning at the collision, and when his blue eyes settled on the silver-haired speedster on the ground, it turned to a look of shock.

"Ciara Ellis," he breathed, and Ciara looked up in surprise at the deep voice. A cocky grin then spread across her face, much more like the looks he'd grown used to during his short exile a year ago.

"Hey big guy. I see you're just as much a wall as ever," she rapped her knuckles against the metal plated armour on his chest. He looked down at the lanky girl who just about reached his shoulder, taking a moment to adjust to seeing her.

"Why?" the word finally broke his silence, and Ciara tilted her head. Her eyebrow arched delicately, waiting for him to finish his question. "Why do you work with him? His work almost caused the destruction of not only you, but the rest of the people in that town," Thor reminded her of the fight against the Destroyer. Ciara touched the scars that stood out above her eyebrow, a souvenir in the fight she had been hopelessly outclassed in.

"Do you remember, when we broke into the SHIELD base, to retrieve Mjolnir?" Ciara turned away, her hands behind her back. Thor noted her flawless pronunciation of the hammer, which at this moment was currently in the bridge, but he didn't speak. "You asked me why I would help you; a stranger I'd just met, in such a dangerous mission," Ciara continued.

"'Because it'll be fun'," Thor repeated the answer he'd received. "You truly would side with my brother because it's enjoyable to you?" he asked, struggling to understand it. Ciara turned back to him, moving with exaggeration and keeping her hands behind her back. "All those people who have died – all the people who _will_ die because of this, you would willingly have their blood on your hands?" Thor pressed, and Ciara rolled her eyes.

"Why should I care? Would they, if it was me?" she challenged, with more venom in her voice than he expected. "No. I'd be another dead mutant, one less problem they'd have to pretend existed in the first place. People like that-" Ciara cut herself off, realising how heated she was getting. She steeled herself, removing the emotion from her face. "Why should I care about people like that?" she asked in a flat voice.

"You mean people like your father?" Thor's simple question had the desired effect. Ciara's mask shattered as the memories flooded back in. Her fists clenched, and her blue eyes turned stormy.

"Don't presume to know me, Thor, just because you read my file," she warned him in a dangerous tone.

"I simply wonder, is it because of him, and your family-"

"I don't have a family!"

"That you refuse to trust anyone?" Thor continued on, despite Ciara's furious snarl. He watched her with a calm expression. "Is that why you refuse to take sides, and would instead antagonise the people who try to protect this planet and its people from harm?" he asked her, and Ciara gave a mocking snort.

"Protect? SHIELD protects their own. They don't care about my kind. They barely care about humans," she rolled her eyes.

"Or is it him? Pietro Maximoff?" Ciara froze, stunned, and before Thor realised it, a blow to the face actually knocked him to the side. However, it wasn't enough to even daze him, and he reached out, catching Ciara's wrist. "Finally," he nodded with approval. "Something truthful about you," his victorious words snapped Ciara out of her rage, and she tugged, trying to break free of his grasp. It wasn't painful, but it was strong; too strong for her to break free.

"Let me go," she demanded, her breathing uneven as more memories tugged forwards, freed from the box she'd shoved them into. "I mean it Thor, let me go," she continued to struggle, but he didn't so much as loosen his grasp.

"I am truly sorry for your past, Ciara Ellis," Thor's victorious look faded.

"Don't you dare pity me," Ciara snarled back at him, seeing the look in his eyes. "Not after you would bring up-" she choked, looking away. "Let me go," she repeated, her voice softer now.

"I am sorry, but I cannot allow you to continue down this path. I swore I would protect this realm from dangers, and that includes from you," Thor told her, and with that, began to move, dragging her effortlessly. After a moment, Ciara sighed, and walked obediently behind him, forced to walk faster to keep up with his long strides. Her heart pounded painfully and sweat ran down her face, as nausea threatened to force her stolen food back up.

"Thor, we need to get to-" Natasha stopped as she saw Ciara in Thor's grasp. "Get to the lab. We have some information about Loki's plan," she said, looking up at the Asgardian. Ciara scoffed quietly, but made no attempt to speak, mockery or otherwise. Thor nodded wordlessly, and they made their way to the lab, where they heard Fury and Steve speaking.

"I was wrong Director," Steve growled, standing beside a large weapon he'd found in a crate. "The world hasn't changed a bit," they double-took when they saw Ciara with Thor and Natasha, and Steve shook his head. "To think it took her to help me realise it," Fury turned to Ciara, anger in his one good eye, and she met his gaze with as defiant a look as she could muster.

"Did you know about this?" Bruce asked Thor and Natasha.

"You want to think about removing yourself from this environment, Doctor?" Natasha asked, trying and failing to keep the worry from her voice. Ciara glanced to her, and as Bruce gave a mocking laugh, she realised what it was that Loki had planned.

"I was in Calcutta; I was pretty well removed," he reminded her bitterly. Ciara gave a small laugh, and Thor glanced to her, frowning.

"Loki is manipulating you," Natasha warned Bruce, who rolled his eyes.

"And you've been doing what, exactly?"

"You didn't come here because I bat my eyelashes at you," Natasha retaliated.

"Yes, and I'm not leaving because suddenly you get a little twitchy," Bruce refused to leave and they could all feel the tension in the room rising, which made both Natasha and Fury even more wary.

"What are you thinking, Ciara?" they all looked at Thor as he spoke to the girl still in his grasp. She looked up at him with a much more defiant look than before, and he took note of the dark lines around her eyes.

"Loki doesn't need to manipulate Banner, or anyone for that matter," she told them, glancing to the others in the room. "Because SHIELD is just like me," Ciara smirked, her eyes gleaming for just a moment. "Unwilling to trust anyone," she stated.

"Ellis, that's enough out of you," Fury warned her carefully.

"So, Fury, why exactly _is_ SHIELD using an unknown power source to build weapons of mass-destruction?" she asked innocently, tilting her head. Fury's anger grew, and he didn't speak.

"Get her out of my sight," he told Natasha.

"No," as the red-head went to grab Ciara, she was stopped by Bruce's firm voice. "I'd like to know that too," he turned the screen to them, showing the schematics for powerful and seemingly unstoppable weapons. Fury was silent as he regarded the scientist, before raising a hand.

"Because of him," Thor's eyes widened when the finger was pointed at him.

"Me?" the one who had been quiet the most in the arguing, spoke up in confusion. Tony frowned, and Ciara even arched an eyebrow.

"Last year, Earth had a visitor from another planet, who had a grudge-match that levelled a small town," Fury explained, and the guilt showed in Thor's face as the others looked at him too. "We learned that not only are we not alone, but we are hopelessly – hilariously – outgunned," he explained, and Ciara rolled an eyebrow at his words.

"My people want nothing but peace with your planet," Thor argued.

"But you're not the only people out there, are you?" Fury challenged. "And you're not the only threat. The world is filling up with people that can't be matched. They can't be controlled. Ellis here is the perfect example of that," he gestured to the mutant.

"Oh please," she rolled her eyes in exasperation. "What you're saying, is that you're using the Tesseract to build a defence. Messing with it in the first place is what drew Loki and his army here in the first place," Thor found himself nodding at Ciara's words. "Because that's all you humans do. You seize any power available to be the biggest threat out there, to stomp out anything different, purely because you think they _might_ be a threat," she accused angrily, unable to stop the emotions.

"Ellis, I'm warning you, that's enough," Fury warned with a snarl.

"It's never enough, not for people like SHIELD and HYDRA," Steve started at the name she uttered, which shouldn't have been known by anyone outside of SHIELD.

"She's right," Thor nodded. "Working with the Tesseract is a signal, a blaring beacon, to the rest of the realms, that the Earth is ready for a higher form of war," he warned them darkly.

"A higher form?" Steve repeated in alarm.

"You forced our hand. We have to come up with-"

"A nuclear deterrent," Tony cut Fury off, and the man sighed heavily. "Because that always calms everything right down," he mocked.

"Remind me again how you made your fortune, Stark?" Fury challenged the billionaire.

"I'm sure if he still made weapons, Stark would be neck deep in-"

"Wait, hold on, how is this now about me?" Tony demanded, unsure of why Steve was bringing him into it.

"I'm sorry, isn't everything?" Steve asked sarcastically.

"I thought humans were more evolved than this," Thor rolled his eyes, and Fury rounded on him.

"Excuse me, did we come to your planet and blow stuff up?" he challenged. Ciara gave a laugh.

"Please, if you had the chance, you would have," she stated confidently. "That's what humans do. Conquer everything and everyone," she shrugged.

"Enough with your mutant pity party," Natasha snapped at her, fed up with Ciara's heated words. "If you people were less willing to cause destruction with your powers, maybe it would be easier for everyone to accept each other," arguing broke out amongst everyone as Ciara just laughed in exasperation at her words.

"You speak of control, yet you court chaos," Thor laughed. Ciara realised he'd released his grasp on her arm, too heated in the arguments to realise what he'd done.

"It's his MO, isn't it?" Bruce spoke quietly. "I mean, what are we? A team? No, we're a chemical mixture that makes chaos. We're..." he trailed off, and gave a small smile. "We're a time-bomb," he declared.

"You," Fury turned to him, looking concerned. "Need to step away," he warned, approaching Bruce carefully.

"Why shouldn't the guy let off a little steam?" Tony asked, putting a hand on Steve's shoulder. Immediately the hero slapped him away.

"You know damn well why, back off," Steve snarled, just as concerned.

"Oh, I'm starting to want you to make me," Tony requested.

"Yeah...big man in a suit of armour. Take that off, what are you?" Steve challenged as he circled Tony. The man rolled his eyes in response.

"Genius, billionaire, playboy philanthropist," he answered, and Ciara shook her head in exasperation as the two continued their argument. She took a tiny step back, ready to bolt, when her eyes landed on the blue light emitted from the sceptre. Her arms fell to her sides, as a whisper in the back of her mind made her wince.

"Agent Romanov, would you escort Doctor Banner back to his-"

"Where?" Bruce challenged sharply, his smile cold. "You're renting my room," he pointed out, making it obvious he was aware who the cell Loki was imprisoned in was really for.

"The cell was just in case-"

"In case you needed to kill me, but you can't," Bruce snarled. "I know, I tried," his declaration stunned everyone, as Ciara even managed to pull her attention from the sceptre. Bruce shrugged, very aware of the attention in the room. "I got low, I didn't see an end, so I put a bullet in my mouth, and the _other guy_ spit it out," as he spoke, Ciara's gaze was pulled back to the sceptre, which seemed to glow even brighter.

' _Divided...fall..._ " she heard the faint whisper of words in her head, and put a hand to her temple as pain shot through it.

"So I moved on. I focused on helping other people, I was good, until you dragged me back into this freak-show, and put everyone here at risk," Bruce glared at Natasha, making it clear he blamed her for it. "You want to know my secret, Agent Romanov? You want to know how I stay calm?" he challenged, not registering the gust of wind that blew past. He noted both Fury and Natasha reaching for their guns as the other three went on alert.

"Doctor Banner," Steve spoke slowly. "Move now," he ordered, and Bruce frowned, before turning and seeing Ciara holding the sceptre in her hands.

"Ciara-"

"Ellis," Fury interrupted Thor's concerned words. "Put it down," he lifted his gun and aimed it at her as she watched the blue light.

"You people really are pathetic," she spoke softly. "Too busy fighting each other to see the real picture. That's why you'll lose," she looked up, and her eyes shimmered an eerie blue, paler than usual. "Divided you fall," she whispered, smiling wryly at the worried group.

"Ellis, you need to put it down," Steve warned her, hands raised. The computer beeped loudly behind them, distracting them from Ciara, who looked back down at the light of the sceptre again. Bruce shuffled over to the computer to check the reading, pulling on his glasses to read the information. Ciara winced again at the pain that pulsed through her head, as if the light was fighting against her. It was different to the pull of the Tesseract, which drew her in. This repelled her, fascinating her even more.

' _Not meant for you_ ,' she heard the whisper again, and the light flared. When it faded, Ciara collapsed, and both Fury and Thor started towards her.

"Oh my god," Bruce's words stopped them, before an explosion rocked the Helicarrier. Ciara woke instantly, thrown forwards, barely able to hold onto the sceptre as the rest of the group were thrown in different directions.

* * *

 **Hope you liked it!**


	9. Prison Break

**Started this year off by working on unpublished fics instead of the ones here .  
**

 **Plus I've kind of sprained my wrist so even writing those has taken a dip.**

 **Anyways, here's the next chapter!**

* * *

Chapter 9: Prison Break

Penelope was pulled from her uneasy sleep by the explosion that burst through a large part of the Helicarrier. It made the entire ship shudder, and groan loudly. She sat up, looking around wildly. Hearing shouts outside the door of the small room she had been resting in, Penelope got to her feet and pulled on the boots she'd been given as part of the uniform to be out in the field.

Grabbing her jacket from where she'd hung it up, Penelope emerged, fixing her hair back into its ponytail and hurried down the corridor. Her brow furrowed when she saw people run by, and sped up, looking for some who was still for more than a second.

"What happened?" she called to a man she managed to catch, and he turned to her.

"Explosion by one of the propellers. Think it's an attack," he told her, before running on as she processed what he'd said. An attack. A cold, sickening feeling settled in her stomach at the idea.

"Was this planned from the start?" Penelope wondered, forcing herself into action. She ran down the corridor, searching for Marcus. They needed to regroup, figure out what the attack was. As she turned a corner, she stopped, seeing several people in thick black armour. Their faces were obscured, and they all carried large guns. They turned to her, and Penelope opened her mouth to speak, only for them to aim the guns at her. She dove for cover, flinching at the loud noises.

"Tournes!" she heard Marcus yell over the gunfire, and he reached her side.

"We have hostiles," Penelope told him with a sigh as the gunfire faded, and the pounding footsteps echoed towards them. Marcus nodded.

"Then let's take them down," he told her quietly. Penelope hesitated, before shaking her head and focusing. The noise of the heavy footsteps grew louder; unnaturally so. She twitched, and the sound quietened around her and Marcus, but the men cried out as it became painfully noisy. They quickly quietened as even their cries pierced through them, causing more pain than they had been prepared for with just noise. Marcus nodded, hiding his impressed look, and the two rushed the 5 men around the corner. Disorientated, they were quickly taken down, and Marcus kicked a gun away.

"I don't like this. Better get to the bridge," he told Penelope, who nodded, and the pair started running. "Impressive. Didn't know you could do that," Marcus confessed, and Penelope blushed at the praise.

"It takes a lot more effort to control. I'd considered using it against Ellis...but she'd stop me before I could really do any damage," she told him. He didn't speak, leading the way back to the bridge. "Is this Loki's people? Trying to break him out?" Penelope ventured.

"Aye, most likely," Marcus growled, and they stopped as they saw several bloody bodies on the group. Penelope put a hand to her mouth, going pale. "I'd kill him myself if I had the power," the man confessed. "Come on," he led Penelope away, and she followed, still seeing the bodies in her mind.

She stopped when Marcus flung out an arm, stopping dead himself. Confused, Penelope went to ask what it was, when Ciara walked into view. Her head was lowered and she stared at the ground, seeming almost completely out of energy as she walked slowly. But in the speedster's hand, was the sceptre that had been in the lab.

"Ellis..." Marcus growled, reaching for his gun. Penelope did the same, but both faltered as Ciara stopped, lifting her head. Her blue eyes were dull, and glazed over as if in a trance.

"Has she been taken over by it?" Penelope whispered to Marcus, but he didn't reply, still staring at Ciara. She tilted her head in an almost birdlike manner, but her blank expression didn't change. The eerie blue light that shone from the sceptre, however, grew brighter, and in a quick movement, Ciara threw out her arm, and Marcus tackled Penelope out of the way as she shrieked. The area shuddered dangerously as the light exploded, and the shockwave slammed into both Marcus and Penelope, slamming them into a wall. Debris clattered against the pair, battering them from all angles.

They hit the ground, coughing and feeling pain everywhere as Ciara turned and walked on by without a word. Penelope looked up weakly, watching as the young woman walked off. She then turned to Marcus, pulling the debris off his back as he groaned.

"Just what the bleedin' hell was up with her?" he questioned, just as baffled as Penelope.

* * *

Ciara walked through the Helicarrier, not reacting to any of the chaos around her. Her mind was fuzzy and she wasn't sure of what was going on, or what she was doing, only that there was pain tingling through her body. As her mind floated through confusion, unaware of the explosions or yelling around her, Ciara's body moved on its own.

Thor pushed himself to his feet, whirling around as the door to the cell slid shut, trapping him inside as Loki stood at the controls; a haughty expression on his face.

"Are you ever not going to fall for that?" he asked as a soldier walked by to keep guard. Thor glared at him through the glass, not moving. He knew already that the cell was built for something regarded as much more of a threat than SHIELD seemed to see either him or Loki – and he'd seen for himself now, the raging monster that Bruce harboured inside.

Both Thor and Loki looked away at the same time, when they heard the click of the soldier removing the safety of his gun and aiming it at Ciara. Loki raised a hand, and the soldier lowered his weapon obediently, watching as Ciara walked in, carrying the sceptre.

"Ciara..." Thor murmured, staring at the girl who seemed under the control of the sceptre. Loki didn't speak, keeping his expression blank as he approached Ciara. She stopped in front of him, and he watched her silently. In two quick moves, he'd snatched the sceptre from her, and was lifting the mutant into the air by the throat.

Ciara gasped loudly, thrashing in his grasp for just a moment before her hands went to his wrist, and she blinked rapidly. She stared at the God who glared at her suspiciously, neither paying any heed to Thor as he watched, fearing Loki was about to finish her off. Ciara didn't speak, still trying to understand how she'd gotten there. The last thing she remembered was standing in the lab, waiting for the perfect moment to slip away when Thor had released her.

"Just do it," she goaded as his fingers relaxed just enough to allow her to breath, and barely at that. "Might as well live up to one promise, Loki," Ciara prodded. Thor shifted as Loki's head tilted slightly, seeming to consider the option. His fingers then tightened, and a choked noise slipped from her lips as her airway was cut off.

"No!" Thor roared, slamming the glass of his cell with his hammer. It cracked, but didn't break, and the cell shuddered, making him step back as Loki finally looked at him. He smirked, and tossed Ciara aside easily. She collided with the wall, and couldn't stop her cry as pain exploded from her arm. She sank to the ground, clutching her shoulder, and watched as Loki turned his full attention back to Thor. He laughed, and walked over to the controls.

"The humans think us immortal," Loki commented to his brother. "Shall we test that?" he asked innocently, but as he went to press a button, the thud and grunt of the soldier keeping watch earned his attention.

"Move away please," Coulson requested politely, aiming a massive gun at Loki as he stood over the unconscious man. Ciara looked up, the pain still taking her focus, as Loki stepped back warily.

"Don't..." Ciara tried to warn, but bile rose up in her throat. Coulson glanced to her, his eyes softening for just a moment, before he turned back to Loki.

"You like this?" he asked, shrugging at the gun in his hands. Loki raised his hands slightly, not speaking. Ciara looked at him, and his form seemed to blur, making it uncomfortable to look at him. "We started working on the prototype after you sent the Destroyer. Even I don't know what it does," Coulson admitted, and activated the gun. It hummed to life, glowing an orange-gold colour almost exactly like the Destroyer. "Wanna find out?" he challenged, before the point of the sceptre burst through his chest.

" _No_!" Thor screamed, slamming his fist against the glass helplessly as Coulson screamed in pain. Loki dropped him easily, and the man slumped against the wall, blood trailing from his mouth as he stared blankly. Thor didn't speak, breathing heavily with tears in his eyes at the man whom he'd come to view as a valuable companion. Loki gave a small laugh, gesturing to the sceptre as Coulson's blood dripped from it.

The silence was thick, and Ciara closed her eyes as the sick feeling grew. She heard the doors below open, and a moment later, the cell Thor was imprisoned in dropped from the sky. Loki stared at the hole, as if waiting to hear the crash below, still silent. Ciara pushed herself up, walking unsteadily towards Coulson, who smiled softly at her as she approached. Before she could reach him, Loki yanked her by the hood of her cloak, pulling her away and making her cry out as her shoulder sang with pain.

"You're going to lose," Coulson's soft words made Loki stop, glancing around at the dying man. He dropped Ciara, and she fell to her knees, breathing heavily as sweat beaded on her forehead.

"Am I?" he asked, amused.

"It's in your nature," Coulson told him, his words still soft as more blood bubbled from his mouth.

"Your heroes are scattered. Your floating fortress falls from the sky," Loki listed as he approached him, entertained. "Where is my disadvantage?" he asked, curious about what the man was thinking.

"You lack conviction," the simple answer wiped the smile from his face, and Ciara saw his entire form change, becoming more tense as he allowed anger to take over.

"I don't think I-" a burst of golden energy exploded from the gun still on Coulson's lap, and slammed into him. Ciara dropped to the ground, barely able to shield herself from the powerful attack. Loki was smashed through a wall, hitting another and collapsing to the ground.

"So that's what it does," Coulson commented innocently. Ciara pushed herself back up, and approached him again. "Looks dislocated," he said, looking to her shoulder.

"I..." she sank to her knees, staring at him. She wasn't sure what she should say to him. Coulson was dying in front of her. A man she'd known for years, dying, and she had had a hand in it. There were no excuses this time. No avoiding that she had helped cause this.

"You'll find something, or someone, soon enough," he smiled at her, making her frown in confusion. "Someone you can put your trust in. You just need to stop picking the wrong side," Coulson told her, and when water droplets hit her hands, Ciara realised tears were running down her face. Her brow furrowed even more.

"I don't want to. I'm not looking for anything like that. Why do you have to be so-" she stopped, growing frustrated with the man who was telling her what they all told her, on his deathbed. Her anger grew when she saw his pitying look. "Stop looking at me like that. You people all read my background and think you know me," Ciara growled at him. "I don't need-" she stopped, looking up as Loki stormed towards her, looking scorched.

"Sorry to break up this touching moment," he snarled, grabbing her by the scruff again. Ciara moved obediently so not to jolt her arm, and didn't look back as Coulson watched her sadly.

Neither Ciara nor Loki spoke as they reached their getaway vehicle, flying away without waiting for anyone else. Ciara noted the lack of Clint's presence, but didn't comment on it as Loki released her, shoving her away from him as the doors closed behind them.

"Well, that was messy," Ciara stated, breaking the silence. He glanced at her as he sat, seeing her nursing her injured shoulder. Rolling his eyes, he flicked his hand.

"You mortals," he muttered as a coldness settled in Ciara's shoulder, making her breathing catch. "So easily broken," Ciara screamed as pain exploded in her shoulder before fading, hurting less than before. To her relief, the cold feeling faded as well. "Consider that your reward for retrieving what is mine," Loki told her, closing his eyes and falling into thought as she sank to the ground, putting her hand to her shoulder.

"I thought-" Ciara stopped herself. With a lot of effort, she bit her tongue, keeping quite for once. Loki's eyebrow rose, but he made no comment, not paying her any more heed than that as she managed to take a seat and strap in, thinking to herself as well. She stared at the sceptre in Loki's hand, still dripping blood, and glowing an eerie blue. She still couldn't remember how she'd gotten from the lab to the cell block, but she knew it had something to do with Loki's sceptre.

* * *

A silent agent swept away the glass that Marcus had shattered, having thrown it at the wall at Fury's news. Penelope sat in a similar state to Steve and Tony, all three stunned into quiet.

Bruce and Thor had disappeared; having had a violent brawl that had destroyed a lot of the vehicle bay, after Hulk had torn through a large portion of the Helicarrier chasing Natasha. If either were alive and okay, nobody had any clue. And Coulson. Coulson hadn't made it. The medics had arrived too late.

Tears filled Penelope's eyes as she thought about the polite agent who had known about her abilities, and suggested using them to take down Ciara. All while being apologetic about using her for her mutant power.

"These were in Phil Coulson's jacket," Fury finally broke the silence. "I guess he never did get you to sign them," he said coldly, tossing cards onto the table in front of Steve. Steve blinked out of his thoughts, staring at the Captain America trading cards, covered in blood. As he reached for them, Fury sighed, seeming to lose his anger. "We're dead in the air up here. Our communications, location of the Cube...Banner...Thor...I got nothing for you," he confessed. Penelope looked to Marcus, who was glaring at the wall where he'd thrown a glass. "Lost my one good eye. Maybe I had that coming," he considered aloud.

Nobody spoke, as Tony angled his chair away from Steve and Fury. Marcus was lost in thought, sitting as far away from the genius as possible. Penelope, sitting between him and Steve, just stared at the file in front of her, thinking to Ciara's behaviour during the attack. She had left with Loki, it seemed, leaving them back at square one. "Yes, we were going to build an arsenal with the Tesseract," Penelope looked up sharply at his words. "I never put all my chips on that number though, because I was playing something even riskier," his words finally pulled Marcus from his thoughts.

"You mean..."

"There was an idea," Fury nodded. "Stark knows this. Called the 'Avengers Initiative'. The idea was to bring together a group of remarkable people. See if they could become more," Fury paced the table before leaning on the empty chair between Tony and Steve. Neither spoke. "See if they could work together when needed to. To fight the battles that we never could," Fury sighed heavily. "Phil Coulson died, still believing in that idea. In heroes," his soft words made Tony stand up quickly, and without a word he stormed off.

"Well, it's an old-fashioned idea," Marcus shook his head, glaring at Tony's retreating back. "I think you're best giving up on that idea Fury. Some people just aren't meant to be heroes," he stood up, walking away.

"I think..." Penelope glanced to Steve, who was staring at the cards covered in blood. Steve then sighed heavily, setting them down again. "I think he's wrong," the man announced, to himself more than anything, and followed Tony out. Penelope then looked back down at the file in front of her, and her fists clenched.

"Sir," Fury glanced around as she got to her feet too. "When Loki and the Cube are located, Ciara Ellis will be there too. She is still my mission. And O'Reilly's. And everyone else on my team. I want to go after her when they're located," Penelope requested, sounding more confident and determined than before. Fury watched her for a moment, before nodding.

"As expected. Your mission runs alongside this one," Penelope nodded, and turned around, striding away to find Marcus. "And Tournes?" she turned around. "Make sure you keep a hold of her, this time," Fury's words made Penelope go red, and she nodded, hurrying away as Maria hid her smile.

"Sir!" Penelope caught up with Marcus a few minutes later, finding him digging through his bag for a small bottle of whisky. "I believe you can live up to your nationality's stereotype after we catch Ellis," she took the bottle from him, and Marcus' brow rose.

"Tournes, I've gone easy on you so far, but don't get so relaxed that you think you can take my drink," he said gruffly, eyes on the bottle in her hands. Penelope shook her head.

"Sir, with all due respect-"

"You literally just commented on me being an Irish stereotype Tournes, what respect?"

"We know Ellis will surface again, and soon," Penelope continued, her cheeks still warm. "We need to be ready, because wherever Loki and the Cube are, Ellis is sure to follow. Which means we'll have another shot at her," Penelope told him firmly, not backing down against the bulky man. Marcus scowled, and swiped the bottle from her. "Sir-"

"I heard you," Marcus rolled his eyes, and shoved the bottle away. "But when we catch her, I'm drinking that whole damn bottle, and I'll be damned if I listen to you try and stop me," he told her firmly, and Penelope smiled brightly. "You need that confidence more, girl," Marcus added, before pulling his phone from his pocket, which was miraculously undamaged. "Better get the whole team ready to move when necessary," he walked away, and Penelope followed, her determination growing stronger. They _would_ put a stop to Ciara Ellis and the destruction that followed in her wake.

* * *

 **Hope you liked it! Let me know what you think :)**

 **Please review!**


	10. Which Side To Pick

Chapter 10: Which Side To Pick

Ciara whistled as she wandered around the large, top floor apartment of Stark Tower. Resting her hands behind her back, she took in the expensive sights that decorated the newly built structure in New York City.

Walking around the open plan floor, Ciara admired the layout and glanced out the massive windows, taking in the expansive view outside. "Nothing but the best, huh?" she murmured. Ciara then rolled her eyes, unimpressed. "How spoiled," she approached the bar and examined the bottles lined up neatly, before selecting one from the top shelf.

' _Excellent choice, Miss. Ellis_ ,' the sudden, disembodied voice that echoed through the room made Ciara jump, almost dropping the bottle. ' _Please be careful, that's a favourite of Mr. Stark's,_ ' the voice requested politely.

"Oh...you're one of Stark's creations," the Speedster relaxed, unscrewing the lid of the bottle in her hand.

' _And you're Ciara Ellis, formerly Eir Trask, wanted by multiple forms of authorities, not limited to the US; most recently by SHIELD, for assisting the Asgardian Loki in his destruction,'_ the voice replied, still keeping a pleasant tone. Ciara arched an eyebrow, before pressing the bottle to her lips. Tilting the bottle back, she took a gulp, letting her anger fade.

"So you've access to SHIELD's files," she commented lightly. "Bet Fury doesn't like that," Ciara muttered.

"Eir?" Loki's voice made her turn around. He was standing by the door, sceptre in hand as he watched her. She frowned back at him, and took another drink. She had to admit, Tony chose good whisky. "Interesting name," Loki approached her slowly, moving with a predator's grace that made Ciara want to bolt. "An Asgardian name," he continued as Ciara forced herself to stand tall.

"It's a _Norse_ name," she bit back. Loki tilted his head slightly at the venom behind it. Clearly he'd struck a nerve.

"And how did you acquire this name?" he pressed softly, watching the uncontrolled anger in her eyes.

"How does anyone _acquire_ their name?" Ciara snapped, frustrated and unwilling to talk to Loki, but she feared the sceptre in his hand more than she cared to admit. "My mother chose it. Before she left me with...him," she finished quietly, and Loki recalled the memory he'd pulled from the darkest parts of her mind. Of her father; her family, turning on her for nothing more than being different.

Ciara took another large drink of whisky, her cheeks red with the effort of repressing her memories. There was a long silence, before Loki turned to leave without a word. "Why did you bring me here?" he stopped at her question. "You had the perfect opportunity to be rid of me. Instead you brought me here and fixed my shoulder. Why?" Ciara demanded.

"You repelled the magic of the sceptre," Loki didn't turn. "A supposedly impossible feat. I want to know how," he answered, and Ciara rolled her eyes.

"That stupid sceptre. I've no idea why these things affect me like they do," she complained. "So good luck figuring it out," she told him. Loki suddenly angled his head to frown at her without turning. Ciara arched an eyebrow. "What?" she asked.

"'Like they do'?" he repeated, curious. Ciara stiffened. "Not it. They. So..." he turned fully as Ciara bit her lip. Her heart started to pound. "The Tesseract. Does that affect you also, girl?" Loki demanded quietly, his voice threatening.

"I don't-"

"Remember," Loki cut her off, his voice chiding and just as quiet. His eyes glittered with malice. "There is little reason in lying to the God of Lies," he smirked very slightly, and Ciara's desire to run returned full force.

"I-"

' _Pardon the interruption_ ,' they looked up as the voice returned. ' _I must inform you that Mr. Stark is on his way, and will be here shortly_ ,' it warned. Loki's eyes locked onto Ciara's for just a second, but it was long enough for Ciara to recognise that it meant he would address her slip later. He then turned and strode off.

"Shit," Ciara muttered, running a hand through her hair.

* * *

Tony Stark had returned to Stark Tower shortly after Ciara had left the building. At first he'd attempted to stop the Tesseract himself, but his attack had rebounded on his already damaged suit, so he'd disappeared inside to speak with Loki. She leaned against the wall of a nearby building, watching as people walked by. Some openly grimaced at her silver hair and lanky figure that betrayed her to be different to them, and while she was very aware of each look, she didn't bother to acknowledge them.

Instead she finished the third hotdog that she'd stolen, and licked mustard from her fingers. Her eyes remained fixed on the top of Stark Tower, where Selvig was adding the finishing touches to the portal. Ciara huffed with impatience, knowing that the storm was looming, but hadn't yet broken. Her body was buzzing with adrenaline, begging to run, but she waited. An army was coming, and she had yet to decide which side to fight.

Ciara then smirked. Who said she _had_ to pick?

The sound of shattering glass caught her attention, and her blue eyes went to the window that Tony had been thrown through.

"Discussions went about as well as expected," she considered as she watched the man plummet towards the ground. His suit suddenly shot through the window and towards Tony, enveloping him before he collided with the ground, and allowed him to save himself, flying back up. A moment later, blue light exploded upwards in a pillar of energy, seeming to break open the sky. Without any hesitation, a massive amount of creatures flew from the portal.

Ciara watched as Tony attempted to take them on alone, but there were too many, and chaos erupted around the city as the Chitauri began to destroy everything in sight. As they flew by where she stood, she ran, disappearing back into the tower.

"Loki!" she heard Thor's voice as she reached the top floor. "Turn off the Tesseract, or I'll destroy it," the golden haired God warned.

"You can't!" Loki shouted back. "There's no stopping it. There is only...the _war_ ," he smirked maniacally. Thor sighed.

"So be it," he nodded, and the two began to fight. Ciara rolled her eyes.

"He's as damaged as me," she muttered as the two brothers fought to kill.

* * *

"This way!" Penelope shouted, guiding people to safety as Marcus and Bianchi fired their guns at the Chitauri that got too close. Using her abilities, she quietened down the area around the people running to minimise their panic, while elevating her own voice to be heard over the fighting.

"This is insane! How the hell did we get roped into an all out _alien attack_?" Collins shouted as he too helped lead civilians to a safe place.

"Get down!" Marcus roared, and they looked up in time for a blast to blow everyone off their feet. Penelope twisted in the air, managing to land on her feet. Unsteady, she stumbled backwards, before drawing her gun on the aliens leaping down from their vehicles.

"How the hell did you do that?" Bianchi demanded as she got to her feet. Penelope fired a shot, hitting one of the Chitauri in the centre of what she assumed was its face. It crumpled to the ground.

"Gymnast," Penelope answered simply. "With one hell of a training routine, thanks to my dad," she smiled wryly.

"Then how the hell-" Bianchi stopped to shoot another alien shooting at them. "Did you end up with us?" she shouted over the noise. Penelope lifted a hand, twisting to lower the volume around them, and amplify it around the Chitauri. They stumbled, leaving themselves open to attack from the agents.

"Professional competitions began to test for mutants," she spoke softly, and Bianchi sighed, shaking her head. She swallowed the apology on her lips as more Chitauri began to swarm the area, and Marcus began to bark orders again.

"Get these people to safety!" he roared as he grabbed another clip from his belt. " _Now_!" the others nodded and rushed to help the scattered civilians, who were all now sporting injuries from the attack. Seeing the blood running down the side of his head, Penelope left the people she was helping with another agent, and rejoined him. "You deaf now too Tournes?" he snapped.

"No Sir, I just feel that two of us will be a stronger defence for these people," she answered confidently. Marcus snorted.

"When did you get a spine?" he muttered, thinking his words were too quiet for her to hear. Penelope hid her smile at the comment, taking it for the praise she knew he meant it as.

"Then maybe three will provide a good enough defence," Collins declared as he stood on Marcus' other side, earning a glare from the man. He just grinned, unapologetic, and started shooting.

An explosion above caught their attention, and they saw another SHIELD jet spiralling towards the ground, one wing on fire. It landed nearby, but Penelope and Marcus were swarmed again, with no chance to check if the people inside were alright. "These eejits are relentless!" Marcus complained as he planted his boot in the stomach of one, before slamming it to the ground.

"They're an alien army sir, I think it's what they're supposed to be like," Collins called back to him, before a massive shadow was cast over their heads. Looking up, they saw a huge snake-like monster flying through the sky. "Um..." he hesitated, before flinching as a blast of blue energy narrowly missed his face.

"Pay attention!" Marcus snapped, continuing the fight.

"R-right," Collins nodded.

"Oi!" Marcus shouted into the earpiece he was somehow still wearing. "We could use some backup!" he snapped.

" _Almost there sir_ ," a voice he didn't recognise answered, confident, and he frowned, but didn't answer, dodging a creature that got too close and punching it hard in the face. He felt the pain through his glove, but ignored it and kicked it to the ground.

* * *

At the top of Stark Tower, Loki and Thor were still fighting furiously, and Ciara sighed, shaking her head.

"Okay, I'm officially bored," she declared, earning their attention. "You're both just...boring," Ciara rolled her eyes as she pulled her goggles from her pocket and pulled them on over her eyes. She then smirked as they frowned, breathing heavily. "But the Chitauri, now they look fun," she told them.

"Ciara-" Thor started, but with a strong gust of wind, she was gone, and Loki took advantage of Thor's distraction to attack again.

A woman screamed as the Chitauri advanced on the small group cornered, raising their weapons to finish them off. However, when one suddenly slammed to the ground, its weapon gone, the others glanced around in confusion, only to be blasted by one of their own weapons.

"Huh," Ciara examined it in her hands. "This thing is pretty strong," she commented, before looking up at the people staring at her. "Well? What are you waiting for? Get moving! I ain't here to save your asses!" she snapped, and they scattered. "Idiots," she muttered, dropping the weapon and moving on.

The Chitauri barely even realised Ciara was there, before she was taking them down with punches that were so fast they dented their armour. She dodged the blasts that were fired relentlessly, either at her or the civilians that she pushed out of the way.

"Who is that?" one man asked as he stared at the silver and black blur that easily took down the monsters.

"Are they with the others? Iron Man and the others?" another wondered. Ciara stopped, feeling her fist as it sang with pain.

"Don't insult me," she spat at them, and took a step backwards to avoid the blue blast of energy that flew past and exploded against a building. The people screamed fearfully. "Move it if you don't want to die," Ciara then turned back and started running again, slamming her shoulder against one of the Chitauri and grabbing its weapon.

The Chitauri shrieked at her, aiming their own weapons, but she was much faster and by the time they were locked onto her, they were being swallowed up by the blue light fired from the weapon in her hand. She twirled it, turning, and swung hard, slamming the weapon into the head of the creature approaching her from behind. It crumpled, and Ciara tossed away the weapon before starting to run again.

She skidded to a stop when a roar echoed through the city, so loud it vibrated through her chest. Looking up, Ciara saw the massive snake like-monster curve through the air, before exploding. A lot of the Chitauri seemed to move away from the area Ciara was in, moving back towards where the larger monster had been killed, Ciara noted, and rolled her eyes. "Guess the Avengers finally got moving," she considered.

Ciara watched, as more of the large monsters came through the portal, along with even more of the Chitauri, but before she could start running again, the ground started to shake beneath her feet, throwing her off balance. Ciara stumbled, thinking it was the effects of the attack, before the ground burst up around her. Reacting, she grabbed hold of it and swung over what was almost a prison for her, and whirled around.

"Well Mercury, I think we can all agree that this is by far the biggest mess you've gotten yourself involved in," Lance cracked his gloved knuckles, and Ciara's eyes narrowed.

"Damn, SHIELD were _that_ desperate?" she asked with a mocking smirk. "They realise they're supposed to be _saving_ the city, right? All you can do is tear it up more," Ciara taunted.

"Man, you've still got a mouth," Ciara didn't move as fire billowed around her. "I'm glad you chose not to join us. I'd have barbecued you long ago," another man walked over, wearing an orange, red and yellow hooded body suit with black gloves. His brow then furrowed and he lost his smirk as the wind picked up, snuffing out the flames. Ciara stopped spinning, and the whirlwind she'd created died down.

"Pyro," she greeted, still smirking. "They called in all you morons, huh? Can I expect any of those other goody-goodys to show?" Ciara asked, turning her head as a massive young man stomped towards her, causing the ground to shake even more. On his shoulder, a scrawny, short young man was perched like a frog, his skin a sickly, almost green colour with dark purple lining his eyes even more than Ciara's.

"The Avengers have got this fight covered," Lance glanced to the aliens attacking the group not that far from them. He then smirked at Ciara, who didn't lose her cocky smile. "So the Freedom Force is here to take your cocky ass down, Mercury," he pointed at her.

"Now this," Ciara's smirk only grew as she looked to the four surrounding her. She fixed her goggles so they sat comfortably over her eyes, and flicked out her cloak. "Will be fun," she declared.

* * *

 **Hope you liked it!**

 **Let me know what you think :)**


	11. War

Chapter 11: War

Ciara had to admit, goading the Freedom Force into a fight _might_ have been a mistake.

She came to this conclusion as she flew through the air, having ricocheted off the Blob's stomach as he charged at her. She landed heavily in the debris of a damaged building, crying out as a jagged brick dug into her leg and tore through the fabric of her suit. Her leg immediately sang with pain, spreading up from her calf.

"Not so tough now, huh Mercs?" Toad laughed as he hopped up onto a slab of concrete. Ciara glared up at him through watery eyes, getting to her feet and trying to ignore the pain in her leg. Toad's tongue burst from his mouth, stretching out several feet, and wrapped around Ciara's wrist when she lifted her arms instinctively to shield herself. A shiver of repulsion ran through her, as she looked down at the slimy, slobbery tongue pulling at her.

"Wart boy," she looked up as he pulled her towards him and the others. "I've warned you about putting your slimy self near me," Ciara hissed, and started to spin. Toad shrieked, forced to let go, and slammed into a wall.

"Toad!" Blob shouted as the lanky young man sank to the ground, groaning as blood ran from his head. The winds battered them all as Ciara continued to spin. "Mercury!" the massive blond roared over the winds, furious. The ground shook, but this time from his footsteps as he thundered towards the spinning speedster.

"You should think with your head for once, big guy," at the last second, Ciara moved, balanced in a crouch on his shoulder, before leaping off. Blob slammed into the wall, causing it to crumble, and the structure started to collapse around him. "Then again, she smirked to herself as she stepped away. "There were really only two thinkers in the Brotherhood," Ciara stated as Blob groaned under the wreckage.

"Please tell me that you're not referring to Maximoff," she stopped at Pyro's cackle. "That boy definitely didn't inherit his father's-" the Pyrokinetic mutant was cut off as Ciara's fist collided with his fist. The punch was hard enough to crack his helmet, and the man collapsed in a heap.

"Why is everyone _dumb_ enough to mention that name?" Ciara hissed as she clutched her hand, which sang with pain.

"Because he makes you angry. And an angry speedster, ain't smart," she turned to Avalanche, her silver brow deepening. "Still have feelings for him after what all this time? After what he did to us, to you?" he taunted, and Ciara's rage built, clouding her mind and making her forget about the pain in her leg.

"Shut your mouth!" she snarled, running at him. Too angry, she couldn't react as Toad leapt over Avalanche's head. He spat goo at her face, which splattered against her face. She cried out, forced to stop as it covered her goggles and blinded her, and Avalanche tacked her. They crashed to the ground, struggling as Ciara fought back.

"Give it up Ciara," he growled as he grabbed her wrists, pinning her to the ground. His nose gushed blood freely, stinging from the hit she'd somehow landed. "You're done," he told her as she glared, having managed to uncover her eyes.

Ciara breathed heavily, calming down as the fearful feeling returned, making her skin feel like it was stinging where Lance was holding her. Tears stung at her eyes as she berated herself, realising just how easily they had manipulated her. The nausea caused by the shackle-like grip on her wrists cleared her head of her previous anger, and after a moment, she laughed.

"Yo, I hate when she laughs like that," Toad complained, a hand to the bloody wound on the side of his head. "It ain't ever good for us," he grumbled. Lance scowled, knowing his team-mate was right.

"Well, you losers have two choices," Ciara smirked, hoping her bravado was believable. She could barely focus past his grip on her wrists, and beneath the splattered goo stuck to her face, her skin was clammy and paler than usual. "Either try and take me in, or save yourselves and the people around here from them," Ciara turned her head, and they followed. Lance swore as Chitauri landed nearby, their weapons raised.

"You gotta be kidding," Toad whined, backing away. Lance growled, looking back down at Ciara, who smirked at him. He could feel her pulse pounding, and had only grown while he had her in his grasp. He knew she wasn't as confident as she seemed, but as to why, he wasn't sure. She already knew he had no choice.

"Shit," he released her, and got to his feet, raising his hands as the weapons the aliens held began to glow. The ground began to shake and burst up around them, and the Chitauri stumbled, falling. Bright lights shot from their weapons and flew into the air, some hitting others that flew by.

"You're lucky Wart Boy," Ciara got to her feet and cracked her neck. "Under lesser circumstances, I might have killed you myself for getting this crap on me. These guys might just do it for me," she stated idly as she cleaned her goggles on her clothes, and returned them to her face. As soon as she confirmed she could see through them, she was moving, taking out the Chitauri around. The ground rumbled again, and Blob burst from the wreckage, yelling as he ran at the attacking monsters.

Leaping off a piece of the pavement that broke and jerked up, Ciara landed on a Chitauri and grabbed its weapon as it collapsed. Using it, Ciara helped to clear them out; shooting reinforcements out of the sky.

"You see what we can do with your help? You really should have joined us when you had the chance, Ciara," Lance commented as he gestured for people nearby to run. She snorted.

"I would rather visit that Captain America exhibit every day for the rest of my undoubtedly short life," she replied, slamming the weapon against the ground and making it smoke and spark dangerously. "You guys sold yourselves out. _Freedom_ ," she scoffed.

"You're just being stubborn yo," Toad commented as he landed, having used his weight to collapse one of the Chitauri.

"Arrogant is more like it," Pyro grumbled, a hand to his swollen jaw as he got to his feet. "Seems to be a common trait for you speedsters," he glared at her, and Ciara glared back.

"Care to have the other side of your face match that nice bruise?" she snarled at him, tossing the weapon aside.

"Focus on clearing these things!" Lance snapped. Pyro rolled his eyes and turned, manipulating the fire pouring from the gloves he wore. The Chituari screeched in pain as the flames engulfed them, and Ciara turned away, disgusted as he cackled.

"You're not my leader anymore Lance," she told him, walking away.

"Thank god for that," he muttered in response, and heard her give a quiet laugh before speeding off. "Man, they're gonna kill us for this," he complained.

Ciara stopped a few miles away from where they were fighting, in a quiet part that had been cleared out by Iron Man not long before. She took a breath, and looked down at her leg, which was still humming with pain. She found a long but thankfully shallow gash along her calf, with blood already drying around the edges.

She then looked up at the hole in the sky, where more Chitauri still came through, and sighed, shaking her head. Okay, she had to admit, this was a little more than she had initially expected. A grin returned to her face. But it was still the most excitement she'd felt in a long time.

* * *

Nobody could remember how long the fighting had been going on for, but the Chitauri were still coming. Even Ciara had stopped, her breathing unsteady as she tossed a broken weapon aside. Her outfit was torn and a little scorched from close calls, with her cloak unscathed. Despite starting to grow tired, she was still grinning, watching as Iron Man shot overhead, followed by more Chitauri.

Roars echoed through the city as Hulk leapt from building to building, taking out any of the creatures in his path, and thunder boomed overhead occasionally as lightning flashed. Ciara cracked her neck, watching as the battle raged on around them, showing no signs of stopping as the Chitauri continued to come. Thor was working to cut off any that came through the portal, but some slipped by, avoiding his attacks.

"This was definitely the fun I was missing," Ciara chuckled, enjoying the rush of adrenaline that continued to flood her body. As she looked around, her breathing settled, and she pushed off the wall she had been leaning against. A scream echoed through the air, earning her attention, and her brow furrowed. "I thought everyone had been evacuated from here..." she murmured, and darted in the direction of the noise.

She stopped, body frozen as she saw Penelope, the girl who had sneaked up on her, kneeling beside the fallen leader of task force who had been hunting her for so long. Blood was oozing from a deep burn in his chest, and his breathing was ragged.

"I can't hold them off here Tournes!" the man with them shouted as he emptied another clip into the Chitauri trying to reach them.

"I am _not_ leaving him," Penelope snarled back, unusually aggressive as she tried to stop the bleeding. More Chitauri leapt down from their ships, but Penelope didn't move as tears stung her eyes. Marcus was unconscious, barely breathing after knocking her and Collins out of the way of a blast of destructive power. A gust of wind kicked up, and the Chitauri suddenly shrieked.

"The hell?!" the shocked cry from her colleague finally made Penelope look up, and through her tears she saw Ciara take out the Chitauri at a pace they couldn't keep up with. She stopped when she grabbed one of their weapons, slamming it across the head of one, before blasting another. She didn't say a word, finally looking up at Penelope, who was still by Marcus as Collins stared at her. She cocked her head, staring at Penelope as tears ran down the woman's face.

To see someone so upset over another injured in the battle felt so foreign to Ciara. The strange feeling had stirred up in her stomach again, and she was reminded of Coulson, bleeding out by Loki's cell, and she finally realised what the strange sensation was. Guilt.

"Dammit..." Ciara muttered, tossing the weapon aside.

"You..." hearing Ciara's voice, Penelope finally snapped back to reality, and her fury grew. "This is _your fault_!" she screamed, her voice amplifying and making Ciara flinch, forced to put her hands to her ears. "You helped bring these monsters here! You'll pay for it!" Ciara struggled to focus as the deafening volume forced her down on one knee.

"Get revenge later!" Penelope stopped at the shout that reached her sensitive ears. Ciara looked up, blood leaking from her ear. "You lot are better off focusing on helping people first," she said, getting back to her feet as her ears sang with pain. Penelope's face scrunched back up in a furious scowl, and she opened her mouth to continue her bombardment.

"She's right," she stopped as Marcus spoke weakly. She hadn't even realised he was awake. "Don't cry over me kid...you need to keep...yourself alive...and...and help others," he managed to say, his eyes still closed.

"I will," Penelope whispered.

"Good," Marcus chuckled. "Proud of you kid," he let out another weezing breath, before his chest stilled. A sob forced its way from Penelope's chest, and the tears started anew. Ciara looked away, willing the guilt in her stomach to go away, before running off, trying to escape the noise of Penelope's cries.

* * *

"You _what_?!" Lance roared into his com link, causing another vibration to run through the earth.

"Hey, watch it!" Blob snapped at him as he was knocked off balance, landing on a Chitauri unfortunate enough to be unable to dodge.

"Fine, we're on our way," Lance ended the call, and turned back to the fight as Pyro cackled, manipulating pillars of fire to keep the Chitauri at bay. "We're moving out, get ready to leave!" he ordered the rest of the team.

"You what?" the Australian Pyrokinetic turned to him, scowling. "I'm still having fun!" he complained.

"You won't be once the Nuke gets here!" Lance snapped at him, and his scowl lightened.

"Uh, what?" Toad demanded as he landed nearby.

"Damn, SHIELD is that desperate huh?" they looked up at Ciara as she leaned against a wall. "Launching a nuclear missile into the city to take out these things won't work though," she shrugged as Lance turned to her completely. "So you guys are just giving up and leaving?" she smirked, her face coated in dirt. Sweat trails were visible through the dirt, and her breathing was uneven, making Lance's brow furrow. She was pushing herself. He hadn't seen that in a long time.

"Looks like you're the one who's ready to give up," he accused.

"Please. Still more Chitauri left around here to fight, I'm not giving up just yet," Ciara snorted. "Are you really going to? There's still people here who need help," she smirked, before looking up as more Chitauri descended on them. Lance growled as the others watched him, waiting for his decision.

"You really know how to piss me off Mercury," he said. "You guys have a choice," Lance turned to the rest of his team. "Leave now and avoid the nuke, or keep fighting," he told them. Pyro let out a cackle, and turned. Flames burst from the jets attached to his gloves, torching the Chitauri around him. "I guess that answers that," Lance rolled his eyes.

"Hell, if this gets Ciara off our case, I'm all for it," Toad nodded, hopping off.

"You and me both," Blob charged after him.

"Aww, I'm motivating you guys," Ciara laughed, putting a hand to her chest as if touched. "I'm honored," she taunted.

"Either shove off, or shut up," Lance snapped at her, using his powers to crack open a hole in the ground beneath more of the Chitauri. They shrieked as they plummeted to their deaths, and with another laugh, Ciara started to run again, ramming into the others that were starting to swam, realising that they were a threat.

They continued to come, starting to focus their attacks on either the mutants, or the Avengers, attacking in bigger and bigger droves. Toad yelped as he was tossed aside, and even Blob was straining to toss back the creatures that crawled all over him. Pyro's flames were getting smaller and smaller, and Avalanche's quakes were weakening as well, some not even bringing down the damaged buildings around them.

"There's just no end to these buggers," Pyro complained as his hands fell to his sides. His muscles were straining from overuse of his powers, and his face still hummed with pain from Ciara's punch.

"There won't be till the portal closes," Ciara warned, still grinning as sweat ran down her face. She couldn't remember the last time she had pushed herself so hard. It was somewhat liberating. Hearing a low rumble, they looked up to see Iron Man fly over their heads, holding onto something. "Is that...?" she started with a laugh of disbelief.

"What the hell is Stark doing?" Avalanche stared up, and let out a cry of pain as a blast of energy clipped his leg, the force knocking him onto his hands and knees. "Shit!" he snarled at the pain, which burned through his leg as the Chitauri continued advancing. They were rammed out of the way, and Ciara pulled Lance back to lean against a wall.

"Come on pebbles, I thought you were better than that," she smirked, before she was gone in another gust of wind.

"I dunno how much longer we can keep this up," Toad had blood running down his arm as he clutched at it. "They just keep coming...I think we shoulda gone with the first option and bailed," he complained.

"Do you ever stop whining?" Ciara asked him as she suddenly stood beside him.

"Only when you're not around," Toad bit back, and was surprised when Ciara laughed.

"Not bad," she allowed, and tossed him the weapon in her hands. "Let's see if you're smart enough to work that," she said as she walked by him.

"Of course it takes the end of the world for you to lighten up," he muttered.

"Do not make me use one on you, wart boy," Ciara warned.

"That's more like it," Toad said as he fiddled with the weapon, and shrieked when it suddenly went off, exploding on contact with one of the Chitauri.

"Nice shot," Pyro laughed, but it quickly faded as slowly but surely, the group were overwhelmed.

"I don't think we're gonna make it out of this one," Avalanche admitted as Ciara skidded to a stop near him. She breathed even more heavily, her muscles aching from overuse.

"Probably not," Ciara allowed. "But it's been fun," she told him. He snorted, not looking at her.

"Yeah it has," he admitted. Suddenly the Chitauri all jerked, screeching, before dropping dead where they stood. Ciara tilted her head, before letting out a cry as a sharp pain stabbed through her head, knocking her to her knees. The pressure from before built up, and as she looked up, the light flowing into the sky faded, and the portal shut. A figure fell from it, and as Ciara's vision cleared again, she realised who it was.

"Stark..." she muttered, before Hulk leapt through the air to catch him. A hand still to her head, Ciara looked around at the destruction around them. "They must have been connected mentally," she realised.

"And when the nuke hit whatever was on the other side of the portal, it wiped them all out," Lance caught on as well. He then glanced to Toad, and nodded. Ciara glanced down idly when the purple tongue wrapped around her arm.

"What did I tell you about that?" Ciara asked as he pulled at her.

"You might have helped us out there, but you're still a fugitive," Lance was back on his feet, supported by an exhausted Pyro. "And we're under orders to take you in," he smirked. Ciara looked from the tongue restraining her, to Lance, and then to Blob as he approached to grab her.

"Yeah...not happening," Ciara started to spin, ignoring her aching muscles. Toad screamed as he was tossed into Blob, and the winds knocked them all backwards. Lance strained against the winds, not having expected as much of a fight from the exhausted speedster. The winds finally died down, and when they looked up, she was gone.

"I'm telling you now, I'm not doing that again," Toad warned with a tired groan. Lance sighed.

"Well, at least that'll get the bosses off our case for now," he shrugged.

Ciara stood on the balcony of Stark Tower, looking out at the destruction all around the city. The Chitauri, not to mention the battle to stop them, had devastated the city. Few seemed to have gone without damage, as even Stark Tower had taken a beaten. Ciara's blue eyes landed on one such unharmed building in the distance, with a beautiful stained glass window, and she smiled slightly, shaking her head.

"How obvious," she murmured, before turning and walking back in. "Oof, looks like you had fun with the real big guy," Ciara commented, hands behind her back as she approached Loki, lying in a hole cracked through the ground.

"Must you always be here? You really are like a fly asking to be swatted," Loki glared up at her, covered in scratches and bruises. She crouched beside him, and he took in her own battered features. She was exhausted. "What do you want, girl?" he asked, looking away to glare at a ceiling.

"To thank you," his brow furrowed, and he found himself looking at her again. "This was a hell of a lot of fun," Ciara admitted, watching him with an entertained smile. Her eyes shone, despite her exhaustion, and she seemed happier than he'd seen in the short time he'd been forced to put up with her. "And hey, now you don't have to put up with me anymore, so in a way, we both win," she laughed, and got to her feet as Loki stared at her, admitting to himself that she utterly baffled him. "Well, goodbye Loki," Ciara winked, and with a casual wave, she was gone in a gust of wind. The God let out a sigh, staring up at the ceiling.

* * *

Despite the destruction around the city, there was an air of victory around the newly dubbed "Avengers", who had gathered together the day after the battle. Cleaned up with their injuries tended to, they all talked and chattered together, before it faded as Thor arrived with a truck from SHIELD, and agents helped escort Loki out. Nearby, Penelope stood with Bianchi, her arms folded as she scanned the area.

"You sure she'll be here?" Bianchi asked gently. She wanted to ask if Penelope was okay to continue working on the taskforce to track down Ciara, but the determined look in the young woman's eyes told her that it was pointless to try and have her take some time to herself, even after such an event had taken place. Despite being the newest to the team, she'd been hit hardest by Marcus' death, and was even more determined to take down Ciara.

"She's driven by the adrenaline rush of causing trouble and getting away with it. She'll be here," Penelope said quietly.

"True," Bianchi agreed. "Plus that psycho is here, and from what experience tells me..." she continued as she watched Loki glaring at Thor. Her own brow furrowed, not liking that he was simply being taken away after all the damage he'd done. All the people he'd killed. She took a deep breath. "Crazies love to gather," she finished. Penelope nodded, neither noticing Ciara in the shadows of a truck nearby, the hood of her cloak up.

Ciara's body hurt from so much activity, and she'd barely slept even after running herself ragged. After a long shower, she'd felt a little better, and couldn't resist spying on the farewell. Leaning against the truck, she could feel the flow of energy through her body from the cloak that kept her hidden from everyone.

At least, almost everyone. Loki had immediately spotted her. His eyes narrowed very slightly, feeling the hum of magic as well. It didn't seem like anyone else could, as nobody reacted to the speedster who was wanted for assisting him. Not that he could say anything, considering the muzzle they'd slapped on him. He noticed, as well, when her eyes were drawn to the Tesseract; her sharp gaze fixated on it. She'd mentioned something about being drawn to it before, and there was no doubt of that now.

Ciara suddenly blinked, and shook her head. Fighting the allure of the beautiful blue light, she looked back up at Loki, and brought a smirk back to her face. She waved, and he rolled his eyes, turning his own attention back to the Tesseract and ignoring everyone else there. Thor turned his attention back to him, having said his goodbyes, and turned the device that carried the Tesseract.

Pain suddenly shot through Ciara's head again, as blue light flooded from the Tesseract. She put a hand to her head, feeling the pressure starting to build, and her breath caught as she saw the blue lights starting to swirl around her hand.

"What the hell is going on?" the pain had faded, but the pressure was still there, building as the blue lights spread up her hand and around her arm. She looked up, seeing as the lights engulfed Thor and Loki, just before it did the same to her, and as the two vanished, she did too, completely unseen by anyone else.

* * *

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	12. It's Not Over Just Yet

Chapter 12: It's Not Over Just Yet

It only took a couple of seconds to move from Earth back to Asgard, and Thor couldn't help but smile as he found himself surrounded by the familiar walls of his home. Guards immediately reacted at the sight of him and Loki, moving in quickly, before stopping in alarm as another figure collapsed to their knees nearby. Hearing the noise, Thor looked around. His blue eyes widened, when he saw the lanky silver haired mutant that had been his brother's ally in the battle of New York.

"Ciara Ellis?" he turned to her completely, stunned to see the mortal girl in Asgard. "What have you done?" Thor turned back to Loki, who didn't react, staring at Ciara as well. Thor frowned, seeing the shock in his brother's eyes.

"What happened?" Ciara muttered as her vision swam, and nausea brought bile up through her throat. She got to her feet, a hand to her head, and looked around. Her breathing hitched as she saw Thor, Loki, and the guards staring at her. "What the hell?" she demanded, not recognising her surroundings.

"Intruder!" the guards immediately turned to her, raising their weapons. Ciara's eyes widened in fear, and she took a step back tentatively.

"Stop, don't approach-" Thor's warning came too late as the guards stepped towards the girl, who immediately reacted.

In a fight-or-flight mode, Ciara started running, and the guards were battered by the strong winds that came from her speed as she escaped them easily. Thor cursed, looking around for any sign of Ciara, but she was long gone.

"Thor," the God of Thunder immediately turned at the booming voice of his father. Odin approached, carrying Gungnir in one hand as he didn't look at all amused. "I would have you explain the meaning of bringing a mortal to Asgard," he ordered.

* * *

Confusion lead Ciara on a path filled with unfamiliar sights, but she kept running. After many dead-ends, she finally reached a doorway that led outside, and she stopped, looking around wildly.

"How...what is going on?" she asked aloud, and darted into the shadows, pulling up the hood of her cloak as guards rushed by. "Thor was bringing Loki back to Asgard right? That must be where we are," Ciara realised as she watched them search for her. "How? How did I end up here?" she questioned, her voice quivering. This was nothing like what she'd experienced before.

Keeping her hood up, Ciara waited until the guards were gone, then started to run again, before stopping as she reached the ends of the palace grounds. She closed her eyes, hissing curses as despite her confusion, a pull was leading her back towards the palace. Turning, she moved back towards the buildings, keeping to the shadows when she heard guards nearby.

After some time of running around, Ciara finally stopped, sliding to the ground behind a pillar as her breathing wouldn't settle. She was freaking out, and couldn't figure out a way to calm down.

"Father, I am not sure how Ciara Ellis came to be here," Thor's booming voice echoed towards her, and Ciara's breathing hitched. She pulled her hood closer over her head, not moving. "But I do know that you _cannot_ catch her. And to try will only chase her further away," he warned his father.

"We cannot simply leave her to roam freely," Odin said firmly.

"I know that," Thor nodded as Ciara peeked out to watch the two walking past, escorted by a couple of guards. "But to give chase would be futile. Perhaps Heimdall may be able to see where she is," he suggested. They turned a corner, and Ciara took a shaky breath, before a laugh escaped her lips.

"I'm on Asgard. A different planet," she couldn't stop her hysterical laughter. "This is insane," Ciara said as she looked around. Getting to her feet, she slipped out from her hiding place, and kept moving, looking around and admiring the beauty of the palace. She wandered, and spotted a small group of guards walking back up the steps nearby. Curiosity got the best of her, and once they had gone, she wandered down the steps, and shivered as she felt a chill in the air. It was colder than the pleasant warmth above, making the hairs on her arms stand up as goosebumps spread down them.

It was darker below, leading Ciara to assume it was underground, with artificial lights shining below, but it was the faint trace of magic that led her farther down. Tilting her head, Ciara continued down the steps, hidden from the guards standing at the door thanks to the darkness around them. They didn't even blink as she walked past them silently, completely undetected as she looked around.

It was the dungeons, she realised. Stone prisons with glowing golden lights shaping runes blocking any way out of them. In some, a few prisoners sat, bored, while some shouted to be freed, even as their yells fell on deaf ears. She stopped at one, peering in at Loki, who had his back to her.

"Why do we always end up meeting like this?" he turned his head sharply at her voice, pulled from his thoughts.

"All this space to run from those fools, and you decide to make it easy for them and wait in the dungeons," Loki sighed, turning away from her. Ciara reached out curiously, touching the golden lights. There was a light stinging sensation, that left her fingertips tingling as she drew back.

"I doubt they'll think to look for me here. Especially with you here," Ciara shrugged, before her smile fell. "What did you do?" she asked, quieter this time. At first, Loki didn't respond. Then she heard his quiet laugh.

"You think I would bring you back here? This place is unbearable as it is, do you really think I would make it worse by bringing you here as well?" he asked, turning to her properly. Ciara didn't speak, watching him. He approached the barrier between them. "You were a curiosity on your tragic planet. One that I was happy to be rid of," he told her coldly.

"If that were true, you wouldn't have kept me alive. You wouldn't have healed me, and dragged me to New York," Ciara shook her head, a stubborn look in her eyes as he watched her. "I'm more than a 'curiosity'. You want answers about your dumb scepter, about that damn Tesseract. I wouldn't put it past you to do something insane like this," she accused. A smirk appeared on Loki's face as he towered over her, even now.

"This part of you is a lot more interesting than your insufferable mockery," he commented, and Ciara glared back at him. "However, you're still wrong. I had nothing to do with whatever oddity brought you here," Loki said with a light shrug of his shoulders, but he seemed to be enjoying it all the same. Her frustration building at her own lack of answers,

Ciara had to fight not to slam her fist against the barrier. A gleam shone in Loki's eyes as he picked up on it, and it was almost as if their roles were reversed.

"Okay, so you're not responsible. How do I leave?" she asked.

"Leave?" Loki repeated, his head tilting a little. "You mean, return to your tragic world, to continue your life on the run?" he asked, entertained at the idea. Ciara didn't reply, meeting his gaze firmly. "Perhaps Heimdall would have allowed you passage in the Bifrost to return to your world," he considered.

"The Bifrost...that Einstein Rosen Bridge...the rainbow thing that Thor used when he got dumped in New Mexico," Ciara remembered.

"Yes, that may have worked...had Thor and I not destroyed it last year," Loki nodded, tapping a finger to his chin.

"Are you for real?" Ciara groaned, throwing her head back. Her hood fell down and her silver hair fell around her shoulders. "And they call me a menace," she grumbled, and paused. "Actually, they call me _the_ menace. But that's not the point. Is there another way off this stupid world?" she demanded, still fighting to resist touching the barrier.

"None," Loki shook his head. "You'll find that while your cage is bigger than mine, you're as trapped as me," he told her.

"No cage can keep me locked up," Ciara bit back with more arrogance than she realised.

"Even one with no way out?" Loki asked innocently. This time, Ciara did hit the barrier.

"Then how do I get out of here?!" she demanded, voice raised as the barrier shimmered. When Loki's smirk widened, she realised his game. He was goading her, and she was falling for it. Ciara's arms fell to her sides as she stepped back. It had been some time since someone had worked so much of her true feelings out into the open. "You're no help," she declared quietly.

"I never offered my help," Loki pointed out.

"You've got to be the biggest hypocrite that I've ever met," despite her frustration and fear, Ciara couldn't but laugh. "You're as annoying as me," she told him flatly, and Loki chuckled, before catching himself. Ciara didn't seem to notice, as instead she pulled her hood back up. Even through his cell, Loki felt the faint prickle of the strange magic that was so different to his own. "Guess I'll just have to find some other way," she sighed, and without another word, she was gone.

"Will I ever be rid of that ridiculous girl?" Loki complained as he turned away, returning to his thoughts.

* * *

Keeping to the shadows, Ciara wandered around, and before long, a delicious smell caught her attention. Through her overwhelming confusion, her stomach gave a rumble, and she followed the smell. Her stomach growled again as the smell grew stronger; a mix of savoury and sweet, reminding Ciara of just how hungry she was. She forgot all about her frustration after her discussion with Loki, too distracted by the idea of food.

When she stepped into the kitchen, Ciara temporarily forgot about hiding as she gazed around the huge kitchen, where Asgardians were working hard to prepare a massive feast. The smells were incredible, and Ciara felt herself drooling, her stomach growling even louder. The staff were so busy, they didn't notice the intruder, and Ciara found a corner where light didn't reach, vanishing before they could notice her.

"Come now, everything must be perfect!" the head chef ordered as she strode by, and Ciara instinctively froze so not to be noticed. "The crown prince has returned, and the Allfather has ordered a banquet to celebrate his return!" she said.

The speedster couldn't stop staring at the food as they continued to prepare it. None of it was familiar to her, but it looked amazing, presented in beautiful ways that could only be for a royal banquet. It didn't take long for Ciara to give in, and she couldn't help herself.

"Has a door been left open?" one Asgardian cook commented as she fixed her hair, which had been blown into her face. She looked down, and frowned. "Did I miscount?" she wondered, looking at the meat on the plate she had been preparing. Shaking her head, she dismissed her thoughts on the matter, unaware of Ciara leaning against the wall, eating the leg of some animal that assumed was not from her world. Not that it wasn't any less delicious. It took all her effort to resist making delighted noises as she slid to the ground.

"I heard that Prince Thor not only brought back the traitor prince, but another also," the staff gossiped as they worked. Ciara glanced up. "A mortal, who disappeared as if they were never there," she whispered.

"A mortal, on Asgard?" the other snorted. Ciara arched an eyebrow at her derision.

"It is what I heard," the first said, defensive.

"Those guards must have been delusional. That strange object that allowed Prince Thor to return must have addled their minds," the second scoffed at the idea, completely oblivious to Ciara sitting nearby. Feeling a sense of childishness, Ciara stuck her tongue out at the woman, before going back to her stolen food. "Mortals are next to useless, how would it be possible that they simply vanished and escaped guards, if they even survived the journey to Asgard?" she questioned.

"I am simply telling you what I heard," the first rolled her eyes, and went back to peeling vegetables.

Ciara continued to pick at the food, enjoying every new piece of food she tried. There was even food like potatoes, and it didn't take long before she was having a feast of her own, too fast to be noticed, pilfering small pieces here and there. Even now, on another planet, in another realm, she couldn't resist using her powers to help herself. And the use of her powers to steal the food being prepared had also calmed her down, reminding her of another time.

So engrossed in the fruit pie that she had lifted straight from the oven, Ciara almost missed the sharp inhalation. She looked up, having taken a seat on the stone floor, and saw the staff who had been rushing around stop, staring in the doorway.

"M-my lady, what brings you to our humble kitchen?" the lady who seemed to be in charge bowed. Ciara arched an eyebrow, before going back to the warm pie as sticky juices ran down her fingers. She didn't bother paying attention as she winced; the heat of her stolen food burning at her tongue.

"An odd request, but I would request for you all to start serving promptly," a woman's voice echoed around the kitchen. "Please leave," she requested. Confused, the staff started to usher out, lifting plates to bring out as they left. Ciara finished the pie, still not moving, and as she licked the juices from her fingers, she heard a laugh. "I understand that they are enjoyable..." she looked up to see a beautiful woman watching her, her blue eyes twinkling with laughter. "But to see a mortal enjoy one to such standards, it's somewhat entertaining," Frigga smiled, watching the intruder with amusement.

* * *

 **A bit shorter, but it's an update! I'll try and get another chapter up soon!**

 **Let me know what you think!**


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